Kurla bus accident: Court discharges executives of two private firms

Mumbai, Sep 30 (PTI) A court here has discharged two senior executives of private firms engaged in operating BEST's electric buses, in connection with the bus accident in Kurla that claimed nine lives in December last year.

Additional sessions judge Avinash Kulkarni on Monday discharged Ramesh Katigandla, managing director of Evey Trans (MUM) Private Limited, and Ram Suryavanshi, CEO of Morya Trans India Pvt Ltd, in the case.

The duo had been booked, along with bus driver Sanjay More, for negligence in driver training, supervision, and deployment.

The bus, operated by the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, hit several vehicles and pedestrians after the driver lost control of the wheels on S.G. Barve Marg in Kurla West around 9.30 pm on December 10, 2024. Nine people were killed and 42 others sustained injuries in the accident.

Advocates Suvarna Vast and Sharanya Vast, who appeared for the accused, argued that More had experience of driving BEST buses for more than three years.

They pointed out that the public transport undertaking was the final authority to approve More for driving electric buses, and he had been given electric bus training at the BEST depot in Dindoshi.

The defence contended that BEST was not made an accused in the case, and the operations staff, who were directly responsible for the day-to-day activities, recruitment and operational responsibilities, were instead made witnesses.

The defence submitted that there was no evidence against the duo in the chargesheet filed in the case. PTI AVI ARU