Mumbai BEST bus crash: Driver booked on charges of culpable homicide
Mumbai (PTI): Police have registered a case on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the driver of a BEST bus involved in an accident here which claimed six lives and left 43 others injured, officials said on Tuesday.
The accident took place at around 9.30 pm on Monday on the SG Barve Marg in Kurla (West) where the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking's bus hit several vehicles and pedestrians.
The injured persons were undergoing treatment in various medical facilities, including Bhabha Hospital, Sion Hospital and Seven Hills Hospital, an official said, adding the condition of some of them was critical.
The injured included four police personnel, who were on bandobast duty at the time of the incident. Their condition was stable, he said.
Locals caught the bus driver, identified as Sanjay More, immediately after the accident and the police subsequently took him into custody, he said.
He was taken to a hospital for a medical test. His blood samples were also collected to examine whether he was under the influence of alcohol, the official said.
The police have registered a case against the bus driver under sections 105 (punishment for culpable homicide that does not amount to murder) and 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, he said.
Police suspect the bus driver lost control over the wheels as the vehicle's brakes failed, but it will be ascertained by experts, the official said.
After more than five hours of the accident, BEST said "as per the initial information, the driver lost control of the bus".
The bus, after ploughing through pedestrians and vehicles in Kurla (West), entered into a residential society, Buddha Colony, and came to a halt, officials said on Monday.
The bus was a 12-metre long electric vehicle manufactured by Hyderabad-based Olectra Greentech and it had been taken by BEST on wet lease, an official earlier said.
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No need for guv: DMK leader Kanimozhi
Chennai (PTI): Senior DMK leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi on Friday reiterated her party’s opposition to the office of the governor amid uncertainty over government formation in Tamil Nadu after a fractured election mandate.
Speaking to PTI Videos, Kanimozhi emphasised that the DMK’s demand for the abolition of the governor’s post remained unchanged, especially as questions arise over constitutional propriety during the current political transition.
"Our position that we do not need a governor at all is something the DMK has never changed at any point in time," she said.
When asked about the governor’s actions following the election results—particularly the delay in inviting the leading party to form the government—Kanimozhi pointed to what she described as the "inherent friction" between the office of the governor and the political interests of the state.
She said the current situation "raises a lot of questions" and requires introspection regarding constitutional procedures.
Kanimozhi described the election results as lacking a "clear mandate", which she identified as the primary reason for the prevailing political uncertainty in the state.
"What the people decide is supreme," she said, adding that while the mandate was not decisive, it must be respected.
The Thoothukudi MP attributed the ongoing delays and "many confusions" to the absence of a decisive majority for any single party.
She firmly dismissed rumours about the DMK potentially supporting the AIADMK from outside to help stabilise the government.
She described such reports as mere "speculation" and "rumours".
"We can’t be responding to every rumour," she said, declining to comment on the AIADMK’s claims regarding its numbers to form the government.
The political situation in Tamil Nadu remains fluid as stakeholders await the governor’s next constitutional step in an Assembly where no party has secured a clear majority.
The DMK and AIADMK—both of which suffered significant losses to the TVK—are reportedly exploring tactical manoeuvres to navigate the hung Assembly.
The TVK, with 108 seats and the support of Congress’s five MLAs, is still short of the majority mark. The DMK and AIADMK secured 59 and 47 seats, respectively.
