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Trainee was driving KSRTC bus that killed toddler in Haveri; probe ordered
The KSRTC bus rammed into pedestrians at the Haveri bus stand while the driver was attempting to park the vehicle ahead of its scheduled trip to Lakshmeshwar.
The Haveri bus accident has raised concerns after a KSRTC bus killed a toddler. (File Photo)
A day after a toddler was killed and four others were injured after a government bus rammed into pedestrians at the Haveri bus stand in Karnataka, the police said on Thursday that a trainee was driving the vehicle at the time. A departmental inquiry has been initiated.
The deceased, two-and-a-half-year-old Hazrat Ali Ismail Raichur from Savanur, was rushed to the Karnataka Medical College and Research Institute but died on the way.
According to the Haveri traffic police, the incident took place around 7 am on Wednesday when the driver, identified as Manjunath R, was attempting to park the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus ahead of its scheduled trip to Lakshmeshwar.
“Preliminary inquiry suggests the trainee driver may have mistaken the accelerator for the brake and pressed it, causing the bus to lurch forward into people standing on the platform,” a police officer said.
The police added that the bus was a night-service vehicle being moved to the platform for its first trip of the day.
The injured were identified as Vasudev Gurunathappa Utaleker, 44, his wife Kavyanjali, 39, their daughter Harsha, 6—all from Bankapur—and Arbaz Khan Saudagar, 13, from Savanur. They were treated at the Haveri District Hospital and later discharged.
Officials said the driver had been inducted into service around eight months ago and was undergoing training.
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A case has been registered at the Haveri traffic police station under sections 281 (death by negligence) and 125(A) (acts done rashly or negligently that endanger human life or personal safety) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
Further investigations are underway, the police said.
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