Deadly Dubai bus accident: Omani driver sentenced to 7 years
Dubai: The Omani bus driver, who rammed the vehicle into a height barrier in Dubai that killed 17 people, including 12 Indians, has been sentenced to seven years in jail followed by deportation and ordered to pay USD 925,000 as blood money, according to media reports.
Twelve Indians were among the 17 people killed in the horrific bus accident on June 7 when the bus, coming from Oman, wrongly entered a road not designated for buses and crashed into a height barrier that cut the left side of the bus and killed passengers sitting on that side.
The other deceased include two Pakistanis, one Omani and one Filipina.
According to The Gulf News, the Dubai Traffic Court has ordered that the 53-year-old bus driver be deported after his jail term is over and in addition he should pay USD 13,000 (dirham 50,000) fine.
He will also have to pay USD 925,00 (dirham 3.4 million) in blood money for the families of the victims and his licence was also suspended for one year, the report said.
After the court pronounced its judgement, families of the crash victims said that the "justice is served," the Khaleej Times reported. Many families are glad that the judgement came so fast.
"We think the judgement is fair, and we expected it. We are happy that it came so fast. We predicted it would take a few more months. Now, we can start the procedural work," one of the relatives said.
"The family is back home in Thalasherry, Kerala. We're still unclear on what to do next, but I think the logical next step is to be appointing a lawyer to help us get the amount. They are in extreme financial distress, and this amount would really help," he was quoted as saying by the report.
On June 6, the Muscat-to-Dubai Mwasalat bus service struck an overhead height barrier at 94 km/h at the turn off from Mohammad Bin Zayed Road leading onto Rashidiya Road, where it was due to make a scheduled stop at Rashidiya Metro.
According to the Traffic Prosecution, the speed limit on that road is 40 km/h. The driver took a wrong left turn not designated for buses which led to the height restriction, instead of going right, the authorities said.
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West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee moves SC against SIR
New Delhi (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the state, sources said on Sunday.
The petition names the Election Commission (EC) and the chief electoral officer of West Bengal as respondents. It was filed before the apex court on January 28, the sources said.
Banerjee arrived in Delhi on Sunday. She is scheduled to meet Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar at 4 pm on Monday to discuss the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo would be accompanied by a delegation of party leaders.
She is also likely to meet party MPs in the Parliament House on Monday.
Talking to reporters at the Kolkata airport before leaving for the national capital, Banerjee claimed that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre is resorting to the SIR exercise because it is certain of its imminent defeat in the West Bengal Assembly polls, due in a few months, and said the saffron party should contest the election politically and democratically.
The West Bengal chief minister has written several letters to the CEC, raising concerns over the conduct of the exercise.
In her most recent letter to the CEC on January 31, she alleged that the methodology and approach of the exercise went beyond the provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the relevant rules, causing "immense inconvenience and agony" to citizens.
Earlier, TMC leaders, including Rajya Sabha MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen, had moved the apex court, challenging certain aspects of how the SIR is being carried out in West Bengal.
