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Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), Oct 25 (IANS) The motorcycle that caused the deadly bus fire that killed 19 passengers was lying on the road as its occupants and the pillion had crashed before the bus could pass by, police said on Saturday.
The police concluded this after interrogating the rear seat passenger, Eriswami alias Nani, who fled the spot after escaping the accident with minor injuries.
Shiv Shankar, who was driving the bike, died on the spot after the two-wheeler slipped and hit the road divider.
Kurnool district superintendent of police Vikrant Patil said Eriswami told the police that he had pulled Shiv Shankar to the side of the road and was about to remove the bike lying in the middle of the road when a speeding bus hit the bike and dragged it for some distance.
As soon as the bus caught fire, he panicked and ran away from the spot to his native village Tuggali.
Police identified Eriswamy after scanning CCTV footage from a petrol pump where the duo had filled the bike with fuel at around 2.24am. The footage shows that Shiv Shankar was under the influence of alcohol and at one point it appeared that the bike might slide.
Both friends had left from Lakshmipuram village at around 2 in the night on a Pulsar bike for Dhone town in Nandyal district. When they reached Chinnatekur on the outskirts of Kurnool after refueling the bike, Shiv Shankar lost control of the bike and crashed into the divider. Shiv Shankar died on the spot, while Eriswami escaped with minor injuries.
The private bus, which was carrying 44 passengers and was on its way from Hyderabad to Bengaluru, met with a horrific accident near Chinnatekur village on the outskirts of Kurnool between 3-3.15 am.
While 19 passengers, including two children, were burnt to death, 27 passengers, including the two drivers, escaped by breaking the windows.
Preliminary investigation suggests that as the motorcycle got stuck under the belly of the bus, friction from the bike and fuel leakage caused the massive fire.
However, the cause of the accident remained a mystery. Shiv Shankar’s body was found about 200 meters away from the place where the bus caught fire. It was not clear whether the bus hit the motorcycle or the motorcycle rammed into the bus.
The police had taken both the bus drivers into custody. The driver driving the bus had told the police that the motorcycle was lying on the road and the bus had hit it and dragged it for some distance.
Eriswamy’s statement has confirmed the statement of the bus driver. Due to darkness the driver could not pay attention to the motorcycle lying on the road.
However, the bus driver is accused of negligent driving which led to the major accident. Police are continuing the investigation to find out whether the bus was being driven at high speed.
–IANS
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