Kurnool bus fire: Bus driver who mowed down two-wheeler arrested, police say his license is…

Kurnool bus fire: Andhra Pradesh Police have arrested the driver of a luxury bus who mowed down an accident-ridden two-wheeler in the state Kurnool district, resulting in a fire aboard the sleeper bus that killed 20 passengers.

According to officials, the bus driver, identified as Miriyala Lakshmaiah, had allegedly acquired his driving license using a fake school certificate, while the bike-borne victims were drunk at the time of accident.

Lakshmaiah, they said, had obtained his heavy vehicle driving licence by submitting a fake Class 10th certificate, when he has only studied till Class 5th. Licensing rules mandate that heavy transport vehicle licenses are only granted to individuals who have studied at least till Class 8th.

How Kurnool bus fire accident unfolded?

The Kurnool bus fire accident unfolded in the wee hours of October 24, when a Bengaluru-bound sleeper bus mowed down a two-wheeler, which had already met in an accident, at Chinna Tekuru village in Kurnool district. The impact dragged dragged the two-wheeler underneath the speeding bus, which led to bursting of its fuel tank, triggering a massive fire that engulfed both vehicle.

19 passengers, out of the 44 aboard the bus, died in the mishap, while others managed to escape with their lives, police said.

According to the police, the two bike-borne men, whose vehicle was run over by the bus, were drunk at the time. “We just received the forensic confirmation that the two bike-borne persons (Siva Shankar and Erri Swamy) were drunk,” Kurnool Range Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Koya Praveen told news agency PTI.

Shankar died on the spot after which Swamy fled to native village of Tuggali, but was later picked up by the police for questioning to unearth the crucial details of the ghastly accident, Kurnool Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikrant Patil was quoted as saying.

“When Swamy had pulled Shankar from the middle of the road and checked him, he had died on the spot. Even as he was thinking of pulling the bike aside from the road, the bus rushed in and ran over it, dragging it forward to some distance,” Patil said.

(With inputs from agencies)