Mumbai BEST accident: Was it a ‘deliberate’ act by Sanjay More? Here's what the police said

Mumbai BEST accident: Amid ongoing investigations into the Kurla accident case, the Mumbai police on Tuesday, sought custody of the driver of the electric bus – operated by the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST), which led to the death of seven persons, and injured 42 others on December 10.

Reportedly, the Mumbai police suspect that the driver, Sanjay More, might have ‘deliberately’ attacked the people, using the bus as a ‘weapon’. A magistrate court has now ruled that More would be under the custody of Mumbai Police until December 21.

The Mumbai Police presented Sanjay More before a magistrate court. Although the driver's lawyer argued the Kurla accident occurred due to a ‘technical fault,’ several eyewitnesses cited by IANS claimed the driver was ‘laughing and enjoying his death drive.’

Mumbai BEST accident: More details emerge

Reportedly, Sanjay More had no experience driving electric vehicles and had undergone only a 10-day training for steering EVs.

The Mumbai Police told the magistrate court that the Kurla accident case was a serious one and needed a deeper probe to determine if it was a conspiracy by Sanjay More. The police also informed the court that it was essential to investigate whether the BEST bus driver had received proper training to drive the bus and whether he was under the influence of narcotics at the time of the crash.

Accident caused by ‘human error’

According to initial investigations carried out by Wadala RTO (Regional Transport Office), the accident was due to ‘human error.’ 

“If a driver doesn't have experience driving an automatic transmission bus, he doesn't get proper judgment of acceleration and braking initially. Hence, it seems human error may have caused the accident,” said Bharat Jadhav, vehicle inspector, reported PTI.

The official further added that the driver appeared inexperienced in handling the automatic transmission bus, which lacks a clutch and gear like traditional buses.