NEW DELHI — A routine morning commute turned into a horrific tragedy on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 when a 12-year-old schoolgirl was killed in a devastating road accident involving a school bus and an electric rickshaw (e-rickshaw) in northwest Delhi.

The incident, which occurred during the peak morning rush hour near the Majlis Park Metro Station, has once again cast a harsh spotlight on commuter safety and unregulated local transport systems in the national capital.

The victim, identified as Priyanshi, a resident of Rama Garden in the Mukundpur area, was on her way to school. She was traveling in an e-rickshaw alongside other school children when the vehicle crossed paths with a school bus.

According to eyewitnesses and preliminary police reports, the school bus, driven by 55-year-old Kamal Singh, collided with the e-rickshaw driven by Ajay Prasad (45). The force of the impact threw Priyanshi out of the open-sided e-rickshaw and onto the asphalt, where she was instantly trapped beneath the heavy wheels of the moving bus.

A Police Control Room (PCR) call was placed immediately from the chaotic scene, prompting a rapid response from the Adarsh Nagar police station. Priyanshi was rushed to the Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial (BJRM) Hospital in Jahangirpuri with grievous injuries, but doctors tragically declared her brought dead upon arrival.

Miraculously, officials confirmed that no other children traveling in the e-rickshaw sustained injuries during the crash.

Following the incident, senior police officials, alongside the district crime team and the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) unit, arrived at the spot to cordone off the area and reconstruct the sequence of events. Both the school bus and the heavily damaged e-rickshaw have been seized by the authorities.

The bus driver, Kamal Singh, was swiftly apprehended at the scene and remains in police custody for questioning regarding potential negligence or speeding. "A case has been formally registered under relevant sections at the Adarsh Nagar police station," a senior police officer stated. "We are currently scanning CCTV footage from cameras around the Majlis Park Metro station to verify the exact sequence of events leading up to the collision."

The young girl's body has been shifted to the BJRM Hospital mortuary pending a post-mortem examination.

The heartbreaking accident has triggered immense grief and anger among local residents, prompting a familiar but urgent discourse on the unregulated proliferation of e-rickshaws on Delhi’s major thoroughfares.

While e-rickshaws serve as an indispensable source of first-and-last-mile connectivity for thousands of daily metro commuters and students, critics have long warned about the lack of safety barriers on these vehicles and their vulnerability when navigating lanes dominated by heavy commercial vehicles and large buses. As families mourn the loss of a young life cut short on her way to class, local community members are calling for stricter route regulations and mandatory safety enclosures for vehicles transporting school children.