The Mohan Yadav government in Madhya Pradesh has initiated strict action, removing senior officers including the collector and superintendent of police (SP) of Guna and the state transport commissioner, in the wake of the tragic bus accident in Guna in which13 passengers were charred to death.
It was found that the private passenger bus was 15 years old and running without registration and insurance and its fitness certificate had expired in February 2022. The bus was carrying 30 passengers at the time of the accident on Wednesday evening. Of them, 16 were injured and admitted to the district hospital.
Among the 13 who died is Manoharlal Sharma (60), a district-level office bearer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The bodies were so badly charred that it is difficult to identify them and the help of DNA profiling will be taken for the purpose, sources said.
The state government issued orders transferring Guna collector Tarun Rathi to the state secretariat while SP Vijay Kumar Khatri and transport commissioner Sanjay Kumar Jha were transferred to the police headquarters without any particular charge. Guna district panchayat CEO Pratham Kaushik has been given the additional charge as district collector till further orders.
Also, the additional charge of principal secretary (PS) of transport department was taken away from Sukhvir Singh who also is PS of public works department (PWD). Additional chief secretary of the home department, Rajesh Rajora, will now hold the additional charge of the transport department, the government order said.
Earlier in the day, Guna regional transport officer Ravi Barelia and the chief municipal officer B.D. Katrolia were suspended by the district administration. Katrolia faced the brunt as the fire brigade had not reached the accident spot on time.
The action against top-level officers came after a statement by CM Yadav that none of those responsible would be spared.
“A four-member committee has been formed to investigate the Guna bus accident case. It will seriously investigate and submit the report. I have instructed the chief secretary to take action against all the officers of the concerned departments related to this matter. Also, the transport department has been asked to take strict action against the culprits. All collectors and SPs have also been instructed to be vigilant on vehicles running without permits and to take action against the culprits. I am deeply pained regarding the Guna accident case. The government of Madhya Pradesh stands with the victims' families,” Yadav said in a social media message.
Earlier, Yadav visited the injured in Guna district hospital and directed payment of compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.
Meanwhile, a case has been registered against the owner of the bus Bhanu Pratap Sikarwar, a contractor who is the brother of BJP leader (former district unit vice-president) Vishwanath Sikarwar. Cases were also registered against the drivers of the bus and the dumper with which it collided before catching fire.
