Kurla bus crash Complaint to human rights panel claims BEST drivers overworked

    Mumbai, Dec 11 (PTI) Two lawyers have approached Maharashtra’s State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) for an “impartial” inquiry into the BEST bus accident, which left seven dead and 42 injured, claiming that drivers of the civic-run transport body are overworked.

    They said the tragedy in Mumbai’s Kurla area occurred as senior officials of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) ignored their drivers' working conditions.
    Due to pressure from senior officials and lack of seriousness towards prescribed working hours, BEST bus drivers are not getting proper rest which is a violation of their rights, said lawyers Ashish Rai and Pankaj Mishra in their complaint.

    The schedule of all existing BEST bus drivers should be checked to ascertain if they are being made to put in longer hours than legally permissible, the complaint said.
    An out-of-control electric bus operated by the civic-run BEST undertaking rammed into pedestrians and vehicles at around 9.30 pm on Monday on the SG Barve Marg in Kurla West.
    Besides killing seven persons and injuring 42 others, including four policemen on ‘bandobast’ duty, the accident also wrecked 22 vehicles.
    Basic facilities are not available to BEST drivers and they are not trained properly, the complaint said, adding that “gross negligence” on the part of the bus operator and the management is evident in this accident.
    The complaint urged SHRC to issue directions for an impartial enquiry into the accident and help the victims get justice.
    Meanwhile, bus driver Sanjay More has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He has been remanded in police custody till December 21.
    According to details that have emerged so far, More had no experience in driving electric vehicles and had undergone only a ten-day training for steering EVs.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)