Kurla bus crash: Mumbai Police opposes accused driver’s bail​on January 2, 2025 at 5:46 pm

Kurla bus crash: Mumbai Police opposes accused driver’s bail

​Kurla bus crash: Mumbai Police opposes accused driver’s bail Kurla bus crash: Mumbai Police opposes accused driver’s bail   

The Mumbai police opposed the bail plea of Sanjay More, a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus driver, accused of running over pedestrians outside Kurla railway station on December 9, killing eight and injuring more than 40 people.

Additional Public Prosecutor Prabhakar Tarange filed a reply on behalf of the prosecution, arguing against bail. The reply stated that More was not found to be intoxicated at the time of the incident, and investigators had not identified any technical fault in the bus.

The prosecution stated that the police had recorded statements from about 40 witnesses and attributed the accident to More’s actions. It also claimed that More posed a flight risk, requesting that the court deny bail.

More’s bail plea was filed by Advocate Samadhan Sulane, who argued that a mechanical fault in the bus caused the incident and that More had been unjustly detained. The case will be heard on January 4.

The driver was arrested on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and is currently in judicial custody.

The accident occurred on December 9 when the bus, operated under a wet lease agreement by the BEST, sped out of control and ran over pedestrians for nearly 200 metres. The incident, captured on CCTV, resulted in eight deaths, injuries to 42 people, and damage to over 20 vehicles.

More’s plea argued that he had been driving since 1989 and could not be held responsible for a mechanical failure. “No contractor has been arrested or made an accused in this case,” Sulane said. He added that More was trained at the Dindoshi depot before being assigned the vehicle, and the responsibility for the mishap should not fall solely on him.