Passenger’s death: bus crew booked for negligence

The crew of a private bus operating in the Fort Kochi-Aluva route have been booked, after they reportedly showed negligence in providing timely medical attention to a 40-year-old passenger who fell unconscious in the bus and died a day later in the hospital.

The Elamakkara police said that Lakshmanan of Wayanad, who was employed at a hotel in Palarivattom, fell unconscious when the bus bearing registration number KL-17-C-1300 was passing through MG Road, on Saturday morning. The bus crew did not bother to provide him medical care. A traffic police warden took the initiative in taking the man to a hospital at Edappally, where he died on Sunday.

A case for unnatural death has been registered and a probe is on. The body was handed over to relatives after post-mortem.

The police said they were questioning the crew of the bus, plying in the Aluva-Fort Kochi route, on the allegations that they had not taken any measures to take Lakshmanan to a hospital despite showing signs of distress. “The crew and owner of the bus have been summoned to the police station and their statement will be recorded,” said a police official. The lapses of the crew, if any, will be known only after a detailed investigation.

The relatives of Lakshmanan have filed a complaint in the Elamakkara police station about the negligence on the part of the bus staff.