Andhra Pradesh: The driver of the ill-fated Bengaluru-bound bus that caught fire, killing 20 people on Friday, escaped the inferno by jumping out through the passenger door, failing to gauge the intensity of the blaze, a police official said on Saturday.
Both the driver, Miriyala Lakshmaiah (42), and the additional driver are currently in police custody. A case was filed immediately following the incident.
The fire claimed the lives of 19 bus passengers and a motorbike rider after the bus collided with the two-wheeler at Chinnatekuru village in Kurnool district. The bus was carrying 44 passengers, several of whom managed to escape the fire.
“Once the fire started and the bus came to a halt, Lakshmaiah jumped out through the passenger door. He did not understand the intensity of the situation,” said Kurnool Superintendent of Police Vikrant Patil. After escaping, Lakshmaiah woke the additional driver, who was sleeping in the luggage rack located at the lower portion of the bus between the front and rear wheels.
Realising they could not re-enter the vehicle, the two began breaking the window panes using a rod normally used for changing tyres, allowing some passengers to escape the blaze. Onlookers and panic-stricken passengers also broke several windows, but the fire continued to engulf the entire bus, forcing Lakshmaiah to flee the scene. Police apprehended him in Kurnool on Friday afternoon, holding him culpable for the disaster.
Lakshmaiah has been booked for negligence and overspeeding. The case was registered at Ulindakonda Police Station under Sections 125(a) (endangering human life) and 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of the BNS Act.
The blaze erupted after the bus collided with the motorbike, with the fuel cap of the bike open, causing fuel to ignite as it got dragged beneath the bus.
The bus, operated by V Kaveri Travels and bearing registration number DD 01 N 9490, is not registered in Andhra Pradesh. Patil noted it is registered in the Union Territory of Daman and Diu but holds an all-India permit allowing operations across the country.
Police have seized documents from the travel company, including the all-India permit, transport permit, and insurance papers, and are investigating the fire safety mechanisms employed by the operator.
With PTI inputs