The mid-day tragedy of Feb. 27, 2013 will linger for years in the minds of parents who lost their little ones in a horrific accident in Jubail. These parents had sent their dear ones to the kindergarten classes of a local school, not knowing that they would not see their children again.
Although, as Muslims we believe in the fate, but this does not exonerate anybody from a crime, otherwise every criminal can seek refuse in this argument, turning the whole society into a lawless entity. As per details of the tragedy in Jubail, the speeding land cruiser, coming from the opposite direction, got out of control and after crossing the mid-road fences, rammed into the rear part of school bus, killing six little children on the spot and injuring over 10 of them.
The incident was so grave that the bodies of those killed on the spot were unidentifiable. But to the utter surprise and shock of the parents as well as the school management, the driver of the Land Cruiser was not put behind the bars. In fact, it was not a simple accident; it was a murder but the murderer is free.
We have read in the papers that there are severe penalties for traffic violations, like SR 900 fine plus three days in prison on jumping signals but it has been more than 24 hours, the murderer of six innocent children has not been arrested.
I hope the authorities would take serious notice of such heinous crimes. This is also essential to dispel any impression of discrimination in law in the Kingdom. — Tahir Mahmood Nadeem, Jubail
Jubail tragedy: Time to act
