The Kurnool bus accident which claimed 20 lives could have been caused by a drunk biker, a forensic report has concluded.
The biker — B Shiva Shankar — who died in the accident had allegedly been driving under the influence when his bike skidded on the wet road and fell.
“The driver was inebriated and the headlight of the bike was not working. As the result of rash driving under the influence of alcohol, the bike met with an accident,” K Praveen, DIG Kurnool, told The Indian Express. In the accident, the biker died and the pillion, Yerri Swamy, escaped with minor injuries. Nineteen passengers of the bus also died after the bus, which allegedly collided with the bike, burst into flames.
The Indian Express had earlier reported that the bike run over by the bus carrying 41 passengers was allegedly already lying on the road at the time of the accident.
“The bus came in contact with the bike which was lying near the divider. The bus ran over the bike and dragged it for about 300 metres, after which the explosion that caused the fire took place,” Praveen said.
The pillion, Swamy, had tried to get the biker and the bike out of harm’s way before that, the police have allegedly gathered as part of questioning the pillion rider.
“There was enough evidence to suggest that the biker was under the influence. But we now have conclusive proof because the viscera sample which we collected has tested positive for alcohol,” DIG Praveen said.
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Shiva was from B Thandrapadu village in Kurnool, about 20 km from the Chinnatekur area where the mishap occurred. He worked in the granite business. On Thursday evening, he left home after telling his mother, B Yashoda, that he had some work at Dhone.
The bus accident is now under investigation by a Special Investigation Team of the Andhra Pradesh police. The police had allegedly concluded earlier that the bike had met with an accident before the bus collided with it, based on Swamy’s confession. The biker had filled petrol right before the accident, the police found after retrieving CCTV footage.
Footage from CCTV purportedly shows Shiva arriving at a fuel station at 2.24 am on the motorcycle along with his friend. Shiva is then seen skidding and almost falling off the bike as he leaves the outlet. The CCTV camera also captures the ill-fated bus passing by the same outlet at 2.39 am.
The mishap occurred a few minutes later, with officials putting the time of the accident at 2.45 am. According to officials, after the bus went over the bike, it dragged it for 300 metres before coming to a halt.
