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Following the bus accident which claimed 20 lives in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district, the Ulindakonda police in Kurool registered an FIR against both the driver of the bus and the driver of the motorbike. The FIR was based on a complaint given by survivor N Ramesh in which he accused the drivers of negligence and speeding.
The case has been registered under Sections 125(a) (endangering human life), 106(1) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The Andhra Pradesh government has also announced 16 teams for a thorough investigation into bus fire accident which took place on Friday, October 24. Andhra Home Minister V Anitha told media persons after a visit to the accident site near Chinnatekur village on the outskirts of Kurnool that 27 people, including both drivers, came out safely from the private bus which caught fire after hitting a two-wheeler that got stuck under the bus belly.
The bus belongs to V. Kaveri Travels was on its way to Bengaluru from Hyderabad.
Nine passengers were injured. Six were undergoing treatment at Government General Hospital in Kurnool while three others were admitted to a private hospital. All the injured were in stable condition. Two children are among 19 passengers charred to death in the accident which occurred between 3 and 3.15 a.m.
Six of the deceased each are from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, two each from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and one each from Odisha and Bihar. Another deceased is yet to be identified.
Since the bodies were charred beyond recognition, the remains will be handed over to the families after DNA test, said Anitha, who was accompanied by Transport Minister Ramprasad Reddy. The Home Minister said that a total of 39 adults, four children and an unidentified person were aboard the bus.
She said the preliminary investigation revealed that the bus hit a motorbike and dragged it for a few feet. The bike got stuck under the bus, and the spark due to the collision and fuel leakage from the bike triggered the fire and engulfed the entire bus.
The bike rider was also killed in the accident. He was identified as B Shivshankar (24), a resident of Kurnool. The Home Minister said the police received information at 3.21 a.m. and the police along with firefighting personnel reached the spot to launch rescue operation. The second driver of the bus forced open the rear exit door to help trapped passengers come out.
The investigation also revealed that two unidentified passengers boarded the bus at Aramghar in Hyderabad and one of them later deboarded. The other person is suspected to have died. She announced Rs 5 lakh ex-gratia each to the families of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh each to the injured. This ex-gratia is for the victims who belong to Andhra Pradesh.
Police have registered a case and took up investigation. The driver who was at the wheel at the time of the accident is being questioned by the police to ascertain the cause of the mishap.
Kurnool Superintendent of Police Vikrant Patil said the bus driver told police that the bus hit the bike which was already lying on the road. The driver believes that the bike rider had already met with an accident and the bus ran over the bike which was lying on the road.
The Home Minister said 16 teams of police and forensic departments have been constituted to conduct the investigations from all angles. Ten teams comprise forensic experts to conduct DNA tests.