A Mumbai court has sent the driver of the BEST electric bus, involved in a tragic accident that killed seven people and injured around 50 others, to police custody until December 21.
The police suspect the accident might be part of a larger conspiracy, alleging that the bus could have been used as a “weapon.” In court, they sought driver Sanjay More’s custody to investigate whether he had “deliberately” crashed the bus into vehicles and pedestrians.
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Investigators are also probing whether More, 54, received adequate training to drive the electric bus or if he was under the influence of narcotics at the time of the accident.
Reports claimed that More underwent only 10 days of training to operate electric buses, with his prior experience limited to driving mini-buses.
Opposing his police custody, More’s lawyer argued in the court that the accident may have been caused by a “technical fault” in the bus, reportedly manufactured by Hyderabad-based Olectra Greentech.
He further contended that it was the responsibility of the BEST administration to ensure the vehicle was properly inspected before handing it over to the driver.
At least seven people were killed and nearly 50 others sustained injuries after the bus lost control and rammed into several vehicles over a 100-meter stretch in Mumbai’s Kurla on Monday night.
The bus plowed into around 30-40 vehicles and ran over pedestrians before crashing into a column of the Solomon Building.
