BENGALURU: It was around 9am on Monday when BMTC driver Venkatesh, plying between Madanayakanahalli and Kempegowda Bus Station, stopped at Kottigehalli junction traffic signal. From there towards Sumanahalli Bridge was a steep slope.When the signal turned green and traffic started moving, he felt something amiss -- his bus appeared to gain a life of its own as he sped near the National Institute of Unani Medicine, on Magadi Road.
What followed was sheer mayhem. Venkatesh ploughed into eight vehicles -- five two-wheelers, two autorickshaws and a car, killing two men and injuring at least 10 others.Venkatesh realised that the brakes had failed, but ahead, he could see scores of people waiting at the bus stand and he the bus was increasingly gaining speed. He swiftly steered the bus to the right, where road widening work was in progress, and drove into a mound of mud, forcing the vehicle to a stop.
It is said that if Venkatesh was not alert, it could have turned disastrous, but by then, the vehicle had left a bloody trail. Bylaiah and Vishwaradhya, who were riding two-wheelers, sustained fatal head injuries. Vishwaradhya (48), an employee of a private college, was killed on the spot, while Bylaiah (43), a postal department employee and a resident of Dabaspet near Nelamangala, was declared dead when he was rushed to a nearby hospital.
“Commuters of other vehicles also sustained serious injuries. Passengers inside the bus escaped with minor injuries and bruises,” Kamakshipalya traffic police said. Among the injured persons, the condition of three people is said to be critical.The public tried to vent their anger on Venkatesh, who tried hard to convince them that there was a brake failure, but was saved by others.
The police, who rushed to the spot, secured the driver and arrested him. He reportedly told police that the brakes had failed. “He claimed that he had complained to the depot manager there was a problem with the brake and it was not rectified. However, only the motor vehicle inspectors will ascertain whether there was a brake failure,” an official said.
Bus was moving at high speed
B Shankar Narayana, a resident of Kempegowda Nagar, Narayana was on his way to work in Austin Town on his two-wheeler. He sustained minor injuries. “I heard a thud from behind and before I could turn, a two-wheeler rear-ended my bike and I fell down. I saw the bus moving at high speed, knocking down all other vehicles in its way. While other vehicles were moving at around 20 kmph, the bus looked unstoppable,” Narayana narrated.
Three of the injured -- Harshith (21), his relative Nagaraj (30) and Abhishek (23) -- are undergoing treatment at Sri Lakshmi Multi Specialty Hospital on Magadi Road. Harshith and Nagaraj, residents of Kottigepalya who work in a jewellery shop in Cubbonpet, were on the way to work on a bike. Both sustained serious head injuries and Nagaraj is said to be critical.“Abhishek was to attend a job interview in a private company. As it was Vaikunta Ekadashi, he visited a temple close by and had returned to his two-wheeler parked on the road, when he was knocked down by the bus,” Abhishek’s relative Mallesh said.
BMTC officials suspended
BMTC has suspended the depot manager and assistant work superintendent of Depot 35, to which the bus belonged. Senior BMTC officials, including the MD, visited the spot and announced an ex-gratia amount of Rs 25,000 to the dependents of the deceased, for the last rites. The expenditure of the injured was also borne by BMTC. “The reason for the accident will be known after the inspection report from the BMTC technical team,” an official said.