Kurla accident: RTO rules out flaw in e-bus

Driver tells police he only had three rounds of training; cops probing possible mental health issues

- Vinay Dalvi

MUMBAI: Two days after Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking's driver Sanjay More went on a rampage driving an electric bus (e-bus) in a congested Kurla thoroughfare that killed seven and injured 42, Regional Transport Officers (RTO) shared preliminary assessment report with the police, which stated that there was no technical fault in the bus.

On the other hand, More, who was booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder after the incident, told police on Wednesday that he had received three rounds of training only in an e-bus by the wet-lease contractor, commissioned to run the fleet by the transport utility.

This is contrary to BEST's internal SOP that mandates a six-week refresher training for drivers scaling up from manual to e-buses.