Schoolchildren made to ride atop SUV after participating in sporting event in Raibagh taluk

CHIKKODI: The authorities of the government school at Mantur in Raibagh taluk have come in for much criticism after getting some children to ride on the roof of a SUV, perched dangerously.

Some of the students of the school had won the first place in a sports competition and to celebrate the achievement, the principal got the students to ride on the top of a SUV back to Mantur village from Bendavada, a distance of about 3 km.

The school principal tried to defend the action saying that it was just a matter of 2 km.

Locals criticised the school principal for exposing the children to grave danger and questioned who would have been responsible in the event of an unfortunate incident. The principal, however, brushed it off saying it was just a matter of a couple of kilometers.