Both the children were crushed under the rear wheels of their school buses, which were chartered vehicles being driven by persons without the compulsory 10-year experience.

``The Supreme Court had issued guidelines for plying school buses after the Wazirabad tragedy. These guidelines were forwarded to schools and transporters,'' says a senior police official.

``For instance, the bus windows should have railings. The seats should be built in such a manner that children are not thrown out in case the driver brakes suddenly.''

The Delhi Government had also stipulated that in case a school did not have its own transport, it could hire DTC buses.

Bharat fell out of the window of his bus -- there were no railings -- as the driver braked suddenly after taking a sharp U-turn. He was crushed to death when he was returing home, barely 100 metres from his bus-stop in the Rani Bagh market area of Pitampura.

Ashna Gulati died outside her school in Shakti Nagar, moments after she stepped out of her bus. She was walking around the bus when the driver started reversing the vehicle.

In both cases, the drivers were arrested. And in both cases the drivers apparently pleaded that they didn't realise what was happening. Investigations revealed that they did not have the requisite 10-year experience to drive a school bus. The parents of both the children are enraged over the fact that a teacher wasn't present in the buses. Bharat's father J.B. Sharma says: ``We have pointed this out several times. We have also repeatedly said that the bus driver was very rash. But no one has paid attention to us.''

An officer at the Sarai Rohilla Police Station who investigated Ashna's death says: ``What can the police do in such cases when the people concerned are negligent. We have registered cases, but such incidents will not stop unless everyone takes rules more seriously''.