A tragic accident involving a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus outside Bhandup railway station on Monday night, which resulted in four fatalities and ten injuries, has been prima facie attributed to human error rather than a vehicle malfunction. The driver involved has been arrested and charged.
Investigation Points to Driver's Judgment Error
The Regional Transport Office (RTO) and a technical team, after a preliminary inspection, have ruled out any technical issues with the bus. During the initial inquiry, the driver, Santosh Sawant (52), reportedly admitted to a judgment error. Police have also summoned the driver who operated the vehicle before handing over the shift to Sawant for questioning.
Sawant has been booked under sections 105, 110, and 125 (A) (B) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, attempt to commit culpable homicide, rash driving, negligence, and endangering life, along with relevant sections of the Motor Vehicle Act. The Vikhroli Metropolitan Magistrate court has remanded him to police custody until January 3.
Compensation and Management's Surprise
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh for the families of each deceased victim and offered condolences. BEST has also announced ₹2 lakh compensation for the families and medical assistance for the injured.
The BEST management expressed perplexity over the incident, noting that Sawant is an experienced driver with nearly 15 years of full-time service with the undertaking. However, he had only been operating electric buses for the past three months. A senior official highlighted that in other major fatal crashes, the driver was typically on contract, whereas Sawant was a permanent employee with experience driving larger buses, making this incident of negligence in a Midibus surprising.
Legal Arguments and Aftermath
The public prosecutor, seeking custody, argued that Sawant's fingerprints were collected to match with the steering wheel and emphasized his experience, stating he should have known his negligence could cause disaster. Sawant's lawyer, S V Rane, countered that the alcohol test was negative and Section 105 was wrongly invoked as there was no motive, calling the incident a pure accident.
In his statement, Sawant said that while taking a U-turn, he released the handbrake and accelerated, causing the bus to jump onto the footpath. Following the crash, BEST has suspended the driver and General Manager Sonia Sethi has instituted a high-level probe. The undertaking has also announced a driver sensitization program and counselling for psychological and work-related stress starting Wednesday.
The incident has evoked memories of a similar fatal bus mishap in Kurla in December last year that claimed nine lives. Meanwhile, a lawyer has approached the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission, urging it to take suo motu cognisance of the Bhandup accident.
