Gorakhpur, Dec 15 (IANS): Eight school children were injured, two of them critically, when a village head who was learning how to drive a car, lost control over the wheels and the children fell off the open jeep in Rampur village in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur district.

The incident happened on Thursday. injured were rushed to the Primary Health Centre (PHC) where six were discharged after primary medication while two were referred to BRD Medical College where their condition is critical.

The accused village Pradhan, Lal Bachan Nishad, has been arrested, and the vehicle was seized by the police.

“The FIR has been lodged on the complaint of the families of the injured children under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 279 (rash driving) and 308 (culpable homicide). The village head has been arrested and the four-wheeler has been seized,” station head officer (SHO) Khorabar R.P. Singh confirmed.

Additional SP, Manush Pareek, who reached the spot on the information, said that the village head was getting a toilet tank constructed in the school and had offered a lift to the children. All the eight children had boarded the open jeep.