Hyderabad: The Crime Investigation Department has filed a chargesheet regarding the Mahbubnagar Volvo bus mishap at the district court. In the 400-page chargesheet, the CID has named Diwakar Road Lines owner J.C. Uma Reddy, the wife of politician J.C. Prabhakar Reddy, bus manufacturer Volvo Bus India Limited, and bus operator Jabbar Travels.
The investigation officers also pointed out violations in road engineering norms on the Hyderabad-Bengaluru National Highway leading to a culvert parapet’s iron railings jutting out on to the road. The chargesheet blamed the negligence of the driver, faulty construction of the road and the design of the Volvo bus for the incident.
The CID’s top officials said that detailed reports regarding the defects of the bus and road prepared by technical experts would be sent to the Union government with suggestions to avoid such mishaps in future.
Additional director-general of police (CID) T. Krishna Prasad said they have arrested 10 persons, including J.C. Uma Reddy, so far. The other arrested people are Diwakar Line manager Yaseen Abdul Raheman, bus driver Feroze Basha and one of the owners of Jabbar Travels, Shakeen Jabbar, besides its employees.
The chargesheet says that the entire interior of the bus was made of PVC, which is highly inflammable. The fuel tanks were made of hard plastic while the floor of the bus was not steel but plywood and rubber matting. The emergency exit doors were blocked by passenger seats in violation of CMV rules.
CID officials said the bus’ main fuel tank (300-litre capacity) was located too close to the battery compartment. After the bus hit the culvert, the iron railing hit the bus causing sparks in the battery compartment and igniting the fuel. The iron pipe on the top of the culvert’s railing broke and pierced the main fuel tank. The other end of the iron pipe pierced the floor of the vehicle. The pipe acted like a capillary, and spilled the fuel into the bus spreading the fire, the investigators said.
The chargesheet said that the bus owner had altered the interior of the bus adding five more seats than permitted. All the accused people have been booked under IPC and the Motor Vehicles Act.
The accident claimed the lives of 45 passengers, including 19 software engineers. The bus owned by Jabbar Travels caught fire after hitting a culvert on the NH 44 near Palem in Mahbubnagar on October 30, 2013.
