Kurla BEST bus accident: Driver was not drunk, didn't have mental illness, say police
Mumbai (PTI): Medical tests of the driver involved in the Kurla BEST bus accident, which claimed eight lives, have indicated he did not have any mental disorder and was not drunk at the time of the incident, police said on Wednesday.
The electric bus, hired on a wet-lease basis by the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking and driven by Sanjay More, ploughed into a crowd in Mumbai's Kurla area on December 9.
The accident claimed eight lives and left more than 40 persons injured. Several vehicles were also damaged in the incident.
More (54) is in police custody for alleged reckless driving and booked on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Before the commencement of the case trial, the driver's psychological test was recently conducted at a civic hospital in Sion to confirm if he had any mental illness, a Kurla police official said.
The test report confirmed his mental condition was normal and he had no mental disorder and he was not suffering from any brain-related disease, the official said.
Also, More's blood test report revealed he was not driving under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident, he said.
Earlier, More claimed the bus brake failure led to the accident, but police have received a report from the regional transport office (RTO), stating the vehicle was working fine and there was no brake or any other technical failure, the official said.
BEST administration has claimed More received three days' training before he was allowed to drive the electric bus.
RTO officials suspect human error and lack of proper training for driving automatic transmission buses could be the reason behind the accident, among the most horrific involving BEST buses in recent history.
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Rahul Gandhi joins Haryana Congress leader's 'Sadbhav Yatra' in Gurugram
Gurugram (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday joined the 'Sadbhav Yatra' of Haryana Congress leader Brijendra Singh here.
Gandhi, who is the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, reached Gurugram in the evening and joined the yatra. He also walked some distance with Brijendra, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh and other leaders.
Huge crowds had turned up for the occasion.
Later, Gandhi proceeded to the venue where he addressed a public gathering.
Leader of Opposition in Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda and other Congress leaders, including Randeep Singh Surjewala, B K Hariprasad, state Congress chief Rao Narender Singh, were also present.
Brijendra Singh had on Thursday said it is a matter of joy for them that Gandhi was joining the 'Sadbhav Yatra' in Gurugram-Badshahpur, "thereby strengthening the Indian National Congress' campaign for brotherhood and harmony".
The 'Sadbhav Yatra' began from Danoda village at Narwana in Jind on October 5, 2025, and has covered 85 of the 90 assembly segments in the state.
The foot march was started by Brijendra Singh, son of Congress veteran Birender Singh, to highlight several national and regional issues.
State Congress chief Rao Narender Singh had asked all party leaders to take part in Friday's event.
Days before his yatra began in October, Brijendra Singh, who narrowly lost the 2024 assembly polls from Jind's Uchana Kalan, accused the ruling BJP of playing "divisive politics" and said that "sadbhav" (harmony) has come under stress in the last decade.
Brijendra Singh was a sitting MP from Hisar for the BJP when he resigned ahead of the 2024 general election and switched over to the Congress. He also alleged that the saffron party creates a wedge in society to achieve its political purpose.
The 'padyatra' has so far covered 85 assembly constituencies in Haryana, traversing more than 2,700 kilometres.
Addressing the public gathering, Brijendra Singh said the yatra is inspired by Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, where he took the party's vision and values directly to the people of the country.
Singh said the yatra has highlighted issues like "Vote Chori" (vote theft), unemployment, poor law and order situation, agrarian distress, and issues related to government employees, labourers and traders.
"Sadbhav (harmony) and bhaichara (brotherhood), which the BJP is attempting to weaken, are the messages of this yatra," he said, adding that its slogan is "Congress ka haath bhaichara ka saath".
"This yatra is a natural extension of the Bharat Jodo Yatra," Brijendra Singh said.
