Kurla accident: Driver claims he got only one-day training for automatic bus, says police

The police, however, stated that they will verify his claims with the authorities concerned.

According to police, More told them during interrogation that his training consisted of only three laps, after which he was tasked with transporting passengers despite his limited preparation.

However, the spokesperson of Olectra, the manufacturer of the bus, stated that More received three days of training before he began driving the automatic electric bus on November 29.

“If he claims he lacked sufficient training to operate an automatic EV bus, how is it that he drove the bus without any issues for 10 days between November 29 and December 9?” asked the Olectra spokesperson.

More had been operating wet lease buses for BEST since 2019. According to the spokesperson, after joining Olectra from another wet lease contractor, he underwent a three-day training in Dindoshi. Only after successfully completing the training did BEST generate a code and assign him to a depot, the spokesperson added.

According to police officials, the accused was driving passengers between Kurla and Andheri on Monday, when he allegedly lost control of the vehicle and ended up crashing into 22 vehicles. The incident left seven dead and 42 injured.

The police said the bus conductor broke open the window to rescue the passengers trapped inside the bus. Authorities suspect the bus was travelling at 60 km/h when More lost control and crashed into the vehicles.

“For a busy road like SG Barve Marg in Kurla, 60 km/h is very fast. The bus stopped only after crashing into the compound wall of a residential building,” said an officer.

Driver says lost control

Since the incident, the driver has consistently maintained that he lost control of the bus, which led to the crash, the police said.

However, investigators, who are yet to apply the relevant sections of the Motor Vehicle Act, claim they are working to identify the actual cause of the incident.

“It seems like a deliberate attempt to kill people, and the bus was used as a weapon to harm people. We are trying to understand the reason behind this,” said a senior police officer, adding: “Therefore, we have not applied any section of the Motor Vehicle Act. Instead, we have charged him with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and voluntarily causing hurt with a dangerous weapon.”

Officials also stated that their team would question More’s family members to determine if there were any disputes or stress at home that may have contributed to the incident. The police said they would also investigate whether More became agitated after another vehicle overtook him.

“It is hard to believe that a person with such extensive driving experience could just lose control. He knows that he could have applied the brakes or even pulled the handbrake,” an officer said.

More driving since 1989

In his statement, More also mentioned that he had been working as a driver since 1989 and had never previously collided with another vehicle.

The police further informed that they have recorded the statements of over 25 witnesses.

While the investigating agency claims it does not appear that he was driving under the influence of alcohol, they have written to BEST and the regional transport office to investigate whether there was any mechanical defect in the bus.

“We have already written to them, and they will soon submit their report,” an officer said.

With inputs from Sweety Adimulam