I was taken to hospital on top of 3 bodies in a truck,says Shahapur accident survivor

The 49-year-old Bandra resident alleged that his plight speaks of the lack of regulations on tour operators,unruly drivers and failure of law and order during road accidents.

D’Cunha,who left a 20-year career in aviation to work with Sumita Gram Human Right Forum,often travelled to Nashik to distribute orthopaedic equipment to people,who could not afford them.

Having arrived in the city,he boarded a Neeta Volvo Bus from Muktidham. Around 20 minutes into the journey,the bus stopped at Mumbai Naka where local Neeta Travels employees allegedly sold D’Cunha’s seat to another man. “A man came up to me and said the seat I was sitting on was his. The ticket showed the same seat number as mine. So,I went to the travel agency office and complained. They asked me to board another bus and pointed at a bus that had just arrived from Shirdi.I had no option,but to board it. I saw the driver,Kishor Narotte,before I boarded the bus. It seemed like he had had consumed alcohol before driving,” he said.

From the beginning of the journey,Narotte drove rashly,D’Cunha said.

“Luggage began to fall down from the racks. I got up and asked Narotte to drive carefully,but he told me to shut up and take my seat,” he added.

The police said Narotte allegedly lost control of the vehicle at Khadi village and just before the bus fell into the ditch,Narotte jumped off the bus.

The force of the impact caused D’Cunha to be thrown out of the vehicle. “Within minutes,locals gathered but they began to go through the pockets of the deceased and sifted through their bags. I began to crawl a bit and was helped by a local man,” he said.

D’Cunha’s ordeal did not end there. “After the police arrived,they carried him onto the road and laid him near the wrecked SUV. There were severed limbs all around. Then the police put me on a truck for Shahapur Civil Hospital. But,I was laid on top of the bodies of three women,” he said.

No immediate treatment was provided at the hospital. “It was very chaotic there. No first aid was given and locals began to enter and steal again,” D’Cunha said.

The police are investigating the case and are in the process of filing a chargesheet. “Narotte is at present out on bail. Our investigation is underway. We are awaiting the results of his blood report,” said Suresh Wadke,Senior Police Inspector of Shahapur police station.

A spokesperson of Neeta Travels said D’Cunha was informed about the procedure that was required to be followed to claim the compensation. “We visited him with a lawyer and informed him of the documents that would be required. Many lives were lost due to the negligence of our driver,” said Kamlesh Kanabar,the spokesperson of the travel agency.

srinath.rao@expressindia.com