Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh): The driver of the ill-fated Bengaluru-bound bus which caught fire and killed 20 people Friday in Kurnool, had escaped the inferno by jumping out through the passenger door and failed to gauge the situation, a police official said Saturday.
Currently, both the driver, Miriyala Lakshmaiah (42) and the additional driver are in police custody. A case was filed regarding the incident Friday.
As many as 19 passengers travelling in the private bus and a motor bike rider were charred to death after it collided with the two-wheeler at Chinnatekuru village of Kurnool district.
There were 44 passengers in the bus and several managed to escape the fire.
“Once the fire started (and) the bus came to a halt, through the passenger door he (Lakshmaiah) jumped out. He did not understand the intensity,” Kurnool superintendent of police Vikrant Patil told PTI.
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After escaping the raging fire, Lakshmaiah woke up the additional driver sleeping in the luggage rack at the bottom portion of the bus between the front and rear wheels.
Realising that they cannot enter the vehicle, together they started breaking the window panes with a rod used to change tyres, enabling some passengers to escape the blaze, said Patil.
Some onlookers also broke a few more window panes while a some others were broken from inside by the panic-stricken passengers rushing to escape, he said.
However, the fire continued to rage and engulf the entire bus, prompting the scared Lakshmaiah to flee the spot.
Police picked him up from Kurnool on Friday afternoon. He is being held culpable for the disaster.
Police booked Lakshmaiah for negligence and overspeeding.
They had registered the case at the Ulindakonda police station under sections 125 (a) (endangering human life) and 106 (1) (causing death by negligence) of BNS Act.
The bus caught fire after colliding with the two-wheeler. The blaze was triggered after the motor bike — with its fuel cap open — was dragged underneath the vehicle.
According to police, the bus belonging to V Kaveri Travels with registration number DD 01 N 9490 is not registered in the southern state.
Patil noted that it was registered in the Union Territory of Daman and Diu but enjoyed an all-India permit to engage in business in Andhra Pradesh.
As part of the probe, police seized some papers from the travel company, including an all-India permit, transport permit, insurance and others.
Further, Patil said police are ascertaining the fire safety mechanisms employed by the bus operator, among
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PTI
