Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai
Mumbai, Dec 31: Preliminary investigations into the fatal BEST bus accident outside Bhandup railway station, which claimed four lives and left 10 others injured on Monday night, have ruled out any technical malfunction in the vehicle. Both the Regional Transport Office and a technical inspection team have indicated that the incident was likely caused by human error.
During an initial inquiry, the bus driver, Santosh Sawant (52), reportedly admitted to making a judgment error. Police have also summoned the driver who was operating the bus prior to handing over the shift to Sawant for questioning.
Sawant has been arrested and booked under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Sections 105, 110 and 125(A)(B), covering culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide, rash driving, negligence and endangering life, along with provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. He was produced before the Vikhroli Metropolitan Magistrate Court, which remanded him to police custody until January 3.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the families of those who died in the incident. He expressed condolences to the bereaved families and wished the injured a speedy recovery. The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking has also announced Rs 2 lac compensation for each deceased victim’s family and assured medical assistance for those injured.
The incident has left BEST officials puzzled, as Sawant is a full-time, experienced driver with nearly 15 years of service. Although he has been operating electric buses for only the past three months, senior officials noted that in most previous fatal accidents, drivers were employed on contract through wet lease operators. “Sawant is a permanent BEST driver with experience handling larger buses and a relatively less stressful assignment. It is surprising that negligence occurred while driving a midibus,” a senior official said.
The crash has revived memories of a similar bus accident in Kurla in December last year that claimed nine lives. The trial in that case has yet to begin.
While seeking police custody, the public prosecutor told the court that Sawant’s fingerprints had been collected to match them with the bus’s steering wheel. “He is not a novice. He has been driving BEST buses since 2008 and was aware that negligence could lead to disaster, yet he drove carelessly. We need to interrogate him further to ascertain the motive,” the prosecutor said.
Sawant’s lawyer, S V Rane, countered the allegations, stating that his client’s alcohol test was negative and that Section 105 had been wrongly applied. “There was no motive or prior knowledge. This was purely an accident,” Rane argued. In his statement to investigators, Sawant said that while taking a U-turn, he released the hand brake and accelerated, causing the bus to mount the footpath.
Following the incident, Sawant has been suspended from duty. BEST General Manager Sonia Sethi has ordered a high-level inquiry and announced measures including sensitisation programmes for drivers and counselling sessions to address psychological and work-related stress, starting Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a lawyer has approached the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission, urging it to take suo motu cognisance of the accident and ensure an independent inquiry into the incident.