Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Permit of bus suspended

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) has suspended the permit of the private bus that mowed down chairman of the Ahmedabad-based Mangalam Information Technologies, Prakash Chandra Bhandari, on the NH 47 near PMG Junction on Wednesday.

The department has also suspended the driving licence of A. Suresh Kumar, driver of the bus. The suspension of the bus permit and driving licence was made by Regional Transport Officer K. A. George using his powers as the Licensing Authority and as Secretary of Regional Transport Authority.

It is for the first time in the State capital the department is suspending the permit of a private bus involved in a fatal mishap and the licence of its driver.

Department sources said the decision to suspend the driving licence was taken on the basis of the statement given by a commuter who was travelling in the bus and after inspecting the bus that had been taken into custody by the traffic police. The commuter stated that the driver had indulged in rash and negligent driving right from East Fort. In the preliminary inspection, officials found that the private bus ‘Kunnuvila’ (Kl-01-D-4838) did not have any mechanical fault. “It was the negligence of the driver that resulted in the accident in the one-way stretch’.

Bhandari, who was in the city for meeting business partners, was knocked down by the bus while he was on a morning walk. The bus mowed down Bhandari while overtaking two other buses that were proceeding to Pattom side. The bus came to a halt after crashing into a compound wall.

A top MVD official said the department had started cracking the whip against erring motorists involved in fatal mishaps by suspending the driving licence.

“We have also suspended the permits of buses in a couple of fatal accidents that took place in the State, including Vadakara, recently,” he added.

The driver and the cleaner of the bus had escaped from the spot immediately after the accident. The traffic police were investigating the case.

“The bus is in our custody and no arrests had been made,” an official said.

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