BEST bus driver's kin claim he never consumed alcohol; say technical snag must be behind incident

Mumbai, Dec 10 (PTI) The family members of the driver of the BEST bus that rammed into pedestrians in Mumbai, killing seven persons and injuring 42 others, on Tuesday claimed he never consumed alcohol and the incident could have been caused by a technical snag in the vehicle.

An out of control e-bus operated by the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking rammed into pedestrians and vehicles at around 9.30 pm on Monday on the S G Barve Marg in Kurla (West). The police have arrested bus driver Sanjay More (54).

"My husband will never consume alcohol. I have full guarantee. I have complete faith in my husband. He did not trouble anyone," More's wife said.

"He is innocent and he will be acquitted as he has never hurt anyone," she said.

After the accident last night, some people claimed that the driver was drunk.

More's family members said he has been holding a driving licence since 1989, and that he had been driving the BEST undertaking's buses since lockdown after he lost a job.

"My husband worked at a steel company for a long time. But after losing that job, he worked as tourist cab driver," she said.

On the day of the incident, her husband went to work at 1 pm, she said, and also made it clear that there was no quarrel between them.

More's son, Deep, said his father was not involved in any accident in the past.

"He had been driving BEST buses for the last three-four years and not from December 1 this year. I am sure the accident occurred last night due to a technical error in the bus. He never consumed alcohol," he said.

According to Deep, his father drove a Tempo Traveller, a 15 to 25-seater passenger vehicle before driving an electric bus starting this month.

Before driving the e-bus, he was given training, both practical and theoretical, for about 9-10 days from morning 8.30 am to 1.30 pm.

BEST's General Manager, Anilkumar Diggikar, however, said that More was provided induction training for three days before he was given an electric bus to drive. PTI KK NP