Kota, Apr 16 (PTI) A private sleeper bus en route to Bhind in Madhya Pradesh from Ahmedabad overturned after hitting a divider on a stretch of National Highway-27 here, killing three passengers and injuring
20 others, police said on Thursday.
According to an injured passenger, a stone was allegedly thrown at the bus from the roadside, which hit the driver-side mirror, shattering it and making a loud crashing sound. This apparently startled the driver who lost control of the wheel, causing the vehicle to veer off and hit a divider before overturning on the opposite carriageway of the highway.
Three passengers, who were travelling in bus’ cabin, were tossed out as the wind screen shattered and were flung onto the road, where they were run over by a speeding stone-laden truck coming from the opposite direction, the passenger said.
The incident took place on the Nayagaon overbridge under R K Puram police station late Wednesday.
“The accident took place around midnight; the bus was overloaded and travelling at high speed,” said Punam, an injured passenger who was travelling with her kids and mother-in-law from Ahmedabad to Bhind in Madhya Pradesh.
The impact was so severe that the bus was almost mangled, and the passengers remained stuck in the wreckage until they were rescued following a pain-staking operation that lasted over two hours, police said.
The injured passengers were rescued from the wreck around 2.30 am and several ambulances were deployed to transport them to hospital.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Kota City) Dilip Saini confirmed that three passengers were killed on the spot while 20 others sustained injuries and were rushed to New Medical College Hospital, where they are receiving treatment.
The other passengers on board the bus, in state of trauma, were shifted to a ‘rain basera’ (night shelter) of the municipal corporation, officials said.
The three deceased have been identified as Krishna (31), a resident of Gujarat’s Ahmedabad, and Manoj Yadav (38) and Dharmendra Baghel (46) — residents of Bhind.
“They bodies of the deceased are in a mutilated condition as they were mowed down by heavy-duty truck loaded with Kota Stone travelling on the opposite carriageway of the highway,” Fire Officer Rakesh Vyas, who was on the spot during the rescue operation, said.
Wailing profusely over loss of her husband, Krishna’s wife, who also sustained injuries in the incident along with four other members of her family, said they were travelling to Bhind to visit their two daughters who are studying there during their post-examination school break.
She alleged negligence in treatment at the Kota medical college hospital, where the injured were shifted following the accident.
In view of the severity of the accident, top police and administrative officials reached the spot and later visited the injured in hospital.
Circle Inspector at RK Puram police station, Santosh Chandrawat, said around 20 passengers, including five to six children were injured in the accident, with 12 of them — including two drivers — sustaining critical injuries.
The police has registered a case under relevant sections and an investigation is underway, and the bodies of the deceased have been handed over to family members after the post-mortem conducted on Thursday, she said.
The exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained, she said.
Most of the passengers travelling in the bus reportedly belonged to Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior and Bhind. PTI COR ARB ARB
