Fear Kept Erriswamy From Reporting Bus Tragedy Details

 Kurnool: A key eyewitness in the V. Kaveri Travels bus blaze case, C. Erriswamy, has made startling revelations about the tragic incident near Chinna Tekuru that claimed 19 lives. He admitted that had the police not traced him through CCTV footage, he would never have disclosed what truly happened before and during the mishap.

Erriswamy said he remained present at the spot until 4:10 a.m. on October 24, observing the entire sequence of events — from their motorcycle hitting the divider, the death of his friend and bike rider B. Siva Sankar, and subsequent dragging of the motorcycle by speeding V. Kaveri bus, which caught fire and charred to death 19 passengers beyond recognition.

Erriswamy narrowly escaped with minor injuries, as he fell on the grass of the road divider.

According to the survivor, another blue bus had passed the same stretch moments earlier and struck the fallen motorcycle while he tried to drag Siva Sankar’s body off the road. But that did not lead to any mishap. Minutes later, the V. Kaveri bus hit the same bike and dragged it for 300–400 metres, igniting a fire that spread rapidly.

Erriswamy said he remained in shock, silently watching the blaze and rescue efforts.

When questioned about his silence, he admitted that fear of consequences prevented him from coming forward.

In the interim, an internal investigation by NHAI officials has revealed that the bus had been travelling at over 120 kmph, far exceeding the permitted speed of 80 kmph. Officials assert that proper signage and indicators about speed had been in place. But the driver appeared to have ignored them.

“The mishap is entirely man-made — caused by over speeding, reckless driving, and non-compliance with safety norms. We found no negligence from NHAI’s side,” maintained highway authority’s assistant manager M. Bharat Bhushan Reddy. He said the friction due to the motorcycle stuck under the bus likely triggered the massive fire, which spread quickly due to a consignment of new mobile phones on board the bus exploding after the fire.

Police are now cross-verifying Erriswamy’s version with CCTV evidence to reconstruct the chain of events.

The bus owner and managers, still under scrutiny, handed over a cheque of Rs 40 lakh to Kurnool collector Dr. A. Siri on Thursday in the presence of minister T.G. Bharath and SP Vikrant Patil towards compensation for the victims’ families.

Deceased motorcycle driver Siva Sankar’s mother B. Yashoda sees a conspiracy behind her son’s death. Speaking to this newspaper, she questioned why Erriswamy, despite possessing her son’s mobile phone, neither informed the family nor approached the police after the incident.