As many 11 people travelling in a six-seater autorickshaw were killed in a head-on collision with a private bus on Murugamalla Road near Chintamani on Wednesday morning. Nine passengers aboard the bus sustained multiple injuries. The bus driver fled after the accident.
“The injured passengers told us that the bus driver was driving rashly,” said K. Santosh Babu, Superintendent of Police, Chickballapur. A special police team has been formed to track down the driver, Raju, 20, who incidentally had been booked a month ago by transport officials on the charge of driving rashly. “However, Raju approached the court and got the bus released 14 days ago,” a senior official said.
“He veered to the right and collided with the auto. On impact, the bus dragged the autorickshaw for several yards before coming to a halt,” said the police. All 11 passengers died on the spot.
Senior officials visited the spot and supervised the rescue operations.
The deceased have been identified as auto driver, Shabaaz, Suresh, Gouramma, Krishnappa, Narayanaswamy, Venkataramanappa, Thimmayya, Kumar, A.A. Siddique, and Rajina Siddique, a couple from Kerala. The police are yet to identify a deceased female passenger.
The district administration announced immediate compensation of ₹5,000 to the families of the deceased to perform last rites.
An hour before the accident, members of private vehicle operators and drivers’ assocation had staged a protest in front of the SP office opposing the police’s crackdown on those violating traffic rules.
Compensation
The Chief Minister has announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh to the next of kin of the accident victims.