2 Mondays, a year apart: BEST bus taking U-turn mows down 4, injures 14 on footpath in Mumbai's Bhandup; driver suspended

MUMBAI: At least 4 people were killed and 14 others injured after a BEST bus driver lost control of the vehicle while taking a tight U-turn outside Bhandup (W) railway station and rammed pedestrians on the footpath late Monday, police said. The incident comes a year after the Kurla bus crash which claimed nine lives.

Monday's accident occurred when the bus, operating on route no. 606, hit a roadside pole and then mounted the footpath, mowing down several people standing outside the station premises around 10.05pm.



The bus involved was a wet-lease electric AC vehicle attached to Vikhroli depot, and the driver was hired on a contractual basis. Bhandup police have detained Santosh Ramesh Sawant (52) and are in the process of registering an FIR against him for causing death due to negligence and rash driving.



The driver has been suspended, and BEST officials have ordered an internal inquiry into the incident.

The BEST has suspended Santosh Ramesh Sawant (52), the contractual driver of the wet-lease electric AC bus that rammed into pedestrians outside Bhandup West station on Monday night, killing four and injuring 14 others. "We will inquire if the bus driver had proper training," said a BEST official. The bus conductor was identified as Bhagwan Ghare (47).

Also read: CCTV captures moment when BEST bus ploughed into pedestrians in Mumbai

Of the four deceased, three were women. The deceased were identified as Mansi Gurav (45), a nurse at Sion hospital; Pranita Rasam (31), a small-time actress; Varsha Sawant (25), and Prashant Shinde, who worked with the traffic department. Mansi's husband said after getting off the train, she would take the bus home every day. Pranita's husband Sandeep said the last he knew of her whereabouts was when she was in Dadar for a shoot. Pranita's nine-year-old daughter, who was with her at the time of the incident, sustained injuries.

Police said it is early to determine the exact cause of the crash. "...We cannot say whether it was due to human error or a technical malfunction yet. We have CCTV footage of the incident," an officer said.


- Inputs by Eshan Kalyanikar & Somit SenGet the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Happy New Year wishes, messages, and quotes !