The driver of a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus involved in a fatal accident near Bhandup railway station has approached the court seeking bail. The tragic incident, which occurred in late December, resulted in four fatalities and left eight individuals injured.
Driver's Defense in Bail Plea
In his bail application filed before the sessions court on Tuesday, the accused driver, 52-year-old Santosh Sawant, presented his version of the events. Sawant claimed that the accident was not due to negligence but a desperate attempt to avoid hitting people. According to his plea, he was navigating the bus on a narrow road near Bhandup station, an area plagued by congestion, when pedestrians and a rickshaw suddenly came into its path.
"When the applicant accused was diverting the bus from the narrow road, he tried to save the people who were riding a rickshaw and pedestrians who suddenly came in the way," the plea stated. It further argued that in this attempt to avert a collision, Sawant lost control of the vehicle, leading to the unfortunate incident. The plea emphatically asserted that "the accused is not at fault in this."
Root Cause: Infrastructure and Encroachment
The defense highlighted the persistent infrastructure issues at the accident site as a primary contributing factor. Sawant's plea pointed to the narrow road near Bhandup railway station and the severe congestion exacerbated by illegal encroachments by street hawkers. This environment, the plea suggested, creates a high-risk scenario for drivers of large vehicles like buses, leaving minimal room for error or sudden maneuvers.
Legal Proceedings and Next Steps
The bail application also noted that key pieces of evidence, including the victims' postmortem reports, the inspection report from the Regional Transport Office (RTO), and statements from witnesses, have already been recorded by investigators. Sawant has assured the court of his full cooperation with any further investigation into the matter.
The sessions court has taken note of the plea and has directed the prosecution to file its reply. The hearing on the bail application has been scheduled for next week. The accident itself took place on December 29, 2025, when the bus allegedly ran over pedestrians outside the busy Bhandup railway station, leading to the tragic loss of life and injuries.
