Madhya Pradesh: ‘Bus driver’s callousness caused mishap that claimed 5’ in Ujjain

Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh): Passengers of the ill-fated bus which met with an accident on Maksi-Ujjain Road in Dewas district under Maksi police station claimed that the driver’s distraction was the reason for the mishap. He made a girl sit in the cabin near him at night. He was joking with her. The bus was at a speed of over 100 km/hour. While talking to the girl, the driver got distracted and the bus collided directly with the trolley coming from opposite direction.

Five passengers died in the accident which took place at 3.30 am on Thursday. 3 passengers died on the spot, while the injured mother-daughter duo succumbed to their injuries at the District Hospital. The injured were brought to Ujjain. SP Sachin Sharma, ADM Anukool Jain, SDM Rakesh Sharma reached the hospital to see arrangements for treatment of injured passengers. The bus was going from Madhavgarh (Jalaun, Uttar Pradesh) to Ahmedabad. The deceased were residents of UP. Among those who lost their lives, two women belong to the same family and were going to Ahmedabad for a wedding programme. There were two drivers in the bus Amit and Gopal. Gopal was driving the bus at the time of the accident while Amit was sleeping.

A passenger told media persons at the District Hospital that he got a job in a factory in Ahmedabad and had to join on Friday. ‘This is my first job. I had to reach Ahmedabad on Thursday, but before that the accident took place. I was awake at night. The bus was driven with excessive speed. Before Maksi, the driver made a girl sit in his cabin. He was joking with her while on the steering. He was driving at over 100 km/hour. Due to the girl, the attention of the driver got distracted and the bus collided with the trolley,’ he stated. Driver Gopal too suffered serious injuries in the accident. He fractured both of his legs. He said that he does not know how the accident took place. After the girl sat in the cabin, many others also followed suit. The driver could not recall anything beyond that.