NDRF team carries out rescue operations after a bus plunged into a canal in Sidhi district, Madhya Pradesh, on Tuesday
ANI File Photo

Bhopal: The Sidhi police arrested the driver of the ill fated bus on Tuesday evening. The IG Rewa range Umesh Joga and DIG have started operations covering 10 kilometres of canal area from early hours of Wednesday.

The death toll in bus accident has risen to 51, one body was fished out from within limits of the Sidhi district while two bodies were swept way in the canal current and reached Rewa district. The police have recovered the bodies on Wednesday morning.

The IG Umesh Joga said diver Balendru Vishwarkarma was arrested on Tuesday evening. The driver told police that his driving licence had swept away in canal water but another copy is kept in Rewa. The police team have headed to recover licence copy. The papers of the bus are claimed to be in Satna district. The team of police had marched to Satna to seize papers.

Meanwhile, it is not clear how many passengers were on the bus though there are reports that 63 people were aboard. Just before the accident, three of them had got down. At the same time, it is feared that about 10 more people are missing in the accident.