The Andhra Pradesh police have filed a case against the driver of the bus which fell into a culvert on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway on Tuesday morning, killing 11 people. The driver, Adinarayan Reddy, was among those who died.
However, no cases have been filed against Diwakar Travels - the company which owned the bus.
“The driver’s body has been sent for forensic tests to check whether he had consumed alcohol or not, and we might receive the report next month. Till we receive the report, we cannot say anything as the investigation is still going on,” an official from the Penuganchiprolu Police Station told TNM.
But as they wait for the reports to come, the police don’t seem keen on booking the owner. “If any lapse if found with the vehicle, then travels will be booked. For now, it looks like the driver's fault,” the police said.
The dead driver has been booked under Sections 304 (a) (Causing death by negligence), 337 (Causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of IPC.
It was reported that injured passengers were stuck for over four hours in the bus and the rescue teams had to face difficulty while removing the bodies out of the bus as they were crushed between seats.
This is not the first time that a Diwakar Travels bus is involved in a major accident. In October 2013, a Diwakar Travels multi-axle Volvo bus traveling from Bengaluru to Hyderabad had caught fire. In the incident at least 45 passengers were killed at Kothakota in Mahbubnagar district.
The travel company, owned by TDP MP Diwakar Reddy got into controversy in December last year, when two legislators from the TRS and TDP had a clash. TRS MLA Srinivas Goud belonging to a Telangana transport employees union alleged that TDP MLA JC Prabhakar Reddy - Diwakar’s brother and part of the travel business - had been operating more number of buses than he had permits for.
The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) had reportedly faced losses of Rs 1 crore every day because of private operators.
However, Prabhakar Reddy denied the allegations and said that he had valid permissions for all his buses.
On Tuesday YSR Congress Party president in Andhra Pradesh YS Jaganmohan Reddy had accused the Krishna District Collector Ahmed Babu of trying to save Diwakar Travels.
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