Mumbai’s Kurla Bus Accident: An e-bus operated by Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) crashed into pedestrians and vehicles on S G Barve Marg in Kurla (West) around 9:30 PM on Monday. The driver, Sanjay More (54), was arrested soon after the incident. 

The collision left seven people dead and 42 injured. On Tuesday, Mumbai Police sought custody of the driver, claiming they needed to investigate whether the act was intentional and if the bus was used as a ‘weapon.’ Meanwhile, the driver’s lawyer argued it was a “technical fault.” 

What Mumbai Police Said 

• The police presented him before a magistrate’s court and sought his remand. Authorities maintained that the case is serious and needs a detailed probe. They said it was important to check if the driver acted ‘deliberately’ or if there was a conspiracy. 

• Officers claimed the driver might have used the bus as a ‘weapon’ and drove recklessly in a crowded area, risking many lives. They also wanted to verify if the driver had proper training and if he was under the influence of drugs during the crash. According to police, More lacked the experience of driving EVs. He had undergone only a ten-day training for driving electric buses. 

• The transport department still needed to inspect the bus involved in the accident, the police added. 

What Driver Sanjay More Said 

Opposing the police’s remand plea, Sanjay More’s lawyer, Samadhan Sulane, claimed the crash might have been caused by a ‘technical fault’ in the bus. He argued that it was the administration’s duty to inspect vehicles properly before assigning them to drivers. 

Meanwhile, Sanjay More’s wife quashed the allegations of her husband being inebriated during the incident she said, “My husband will never consume alcohol.” 

“I have full guarantee. I have complete faith in my husband. He did not trouble anyone…My husband worked at a steel company for a long time. But after losing that job, he worked as tourist cab driver,” More’s wife added.  

What The Initial RTO Examination Reveals 

• Soon after the incident a team of Wadala RTO (Regional Transport Office) led by motor vehicle inspector Bharat Jadhav reached the spot to inspect the BEST bus involved in the crash. An RTO official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told PTI that an inspection of the bus revealed its brakes, and the headlights of the bus were functioning properly. 

• The officials suspect that a ‘human error’ and ‘lack of proper training’ led to the horrific accident. The initial report discredited the claims of Driver More’s family that break failure could have been behind the incident. 

• The official stated that the driver appeared inexperienced in handling the automatic transmission bus, which lacks a clutch and gear like traditional buses. They added that the driver was likely not given adequate training before operating the 12-meter-long vehicle. 

• “If a driver doesn’t have experience driving an automatic transmission bus, he doesn’t get proper judgment of acceleration and braking initially. Hence, it seems human error may have caused the accident,” he said. 

• RTO officials said the e-bus traveled about 400 to 450 meters after hitting the first vehicle. It eventually crashed into the wall of a housing society on S G Barve Road while heading to Sakinaka from Kurla Station West. 

• A retired RTO official explained the e-bus’ working mechanism by saying that electric buses with automatic transmission work differently from manual transmission buses that run on fossil fuels. Drivers need some time to adjust and get used to handling the new system. The official added that the driver might not have had proper knowledge, as automatic electric buses lack air-assisted braking systems found in traditional buses. 

(With PTI inputs)