Due to the alleged negligence of the temporary driver, a 24-year-old migrant worker from Karnataka was knocked down and killed by a TSRTC bus on Sunday while he was crossing the road. The incident took place in Nizamabad district. Soon after the accident, the driver fled from the spot.
The victim was identified as Shinde Dhanraj, a native of Bidar, who was staying in Dharmaram village in Dichpalle, Nizamabad.
“The victim was crossing the main road in Manikbhandar area of the district when an RTC bus travelling from Nizamabad towards Nirmal ran over him. The victim died on the spot,” ACP Nizamabad, Srinivas Kumar, was quoted as saying by The Times of India.
According to the report, the deceased suffered serious injuries to his head. Police have filed a case under 304 A (causing death by negligence), and are on the lookout for the absconding driver.
The accused was one of the temporary drivers hired by the TSRTC following the TSRTC strike from October 5.
There have been many instances of alleged reckless driving by the temporary drivers due to their inexperience in driving. Some of them resulted in casualties. Last week, two persons were killed in separate incidents due to accidents caused by the temporary drivers.
The TSRTC JAC (Joint Action Committee), on numerous occasions, had cautioned that the temporary drivers are inexperienced and could endanger themselves as well as risk the lives of the passengers. However, the government has overlooked these concerns and continue to hire temporary drivers and conductors to operate the public transport vehicles.
The TSRTC employees are on strike demanding the merger of TSRTC with the government along with several other demands. However, the government has sacked agitating employees, paving the way for sustained protests. As the government is firm on not having a dialogue with the protesting workers, the impasse could continue for another week. Meanwhile, the TSRTC JAC has announced that they will hold a massive public gathering on October 30 regarding this issue.