Andhra Pradesh police on Friday arrested the owner of the ill-fated Bengaluru-bound private bus, which had burst into flames at Kurnool after colliding with a toppled bike, killing 19 passengers, a fortnight ago. He was granted bail by the court later.
The owner, Vemuri Vinod Kumar, was designated by the police as accused number 2, while bus driver Miriyala Lakshmaiah, who is already in custody, has been named as accused number 1. The bus owner was produced before the judicial first-class magistrate special mobile court for remand. He, however, got bail on personal surety of Rs 10,000.
During investigations, the police found several violations of basic safety guidelines as well as changes in the bus design to convert it illegally into a sleeper bus. The change in design led to obstruction of the emergency exit, and inflammable materials were also used. Moreover, the luggage compartment was illegally being used to transport goods and parcels. Preliminary investigations had found 234 mobile phones estimated to be worth Rs 40 lakh being transported in the luggage compartment, and forensic experts apprehend that the lithium batteries had exploded, leading to the raging inferno that engulfed the bus within minutes.
The bus was initially registered in Daman and Diu and then in Odisha but was operating between Telangana and Karnataka via Andhra Pradesh. Kumar was booked under Sections 105 and 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with multiple violations of the Motor Vehicles Act.
The bus had caught fire after hitting a bike that had toppled on the highway. The rider, Shivshankar, was under the influence of liquor and had hit the divider and died. The pillion rider, Nani, survived but failed to drag the heavy bike, though he carried the body of the rider to the pavement. The police could piece together the sequence of events only after they picked up the pillion rider from his village, after he fled the scene following the fire.