Bus mows down engineering student in Bengaluru, BMTC blames victim for ‘overtaking from left’

“The scooter and the victim were dragged about 15 feet. The bus did not run her over,” a senior police officer at the Malleswaram traffic police station told South First.

The BMTC later claimed the student’s attempt to overtake the bus from the left resulted in the fatal accident, around 8:30 am.

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Bus driver flees

Eyewitnesses shouted at the bus driver, who immediately stopped the vehicle, and reversed it to get Kusumitha out. However, she had died of head injuries.

The police shifted her body to the MS Ramaiah Hospital for a postmortem examination and informed her relatives.

Meanwhile, fearing public fury, the bus driver fled the scene leaving the vehicle behind, and contacted his depot.

He reportedly told the depot that he had heard a vehicle hitting the bus, on the rearview mirror, and saw the woman going under the bus.

“The driver immediately applied the brakes and reversed the bus so that a passersby could pull her out from under the bus,” the police officer said, quoting the depot staff.

“The police have contacted the depot manager to gather information on the driver. He would be summoned for an inquiry,” the officer said.

The Malleswaram traffic police registered a case of accidental death due to negligence and booked the BMTC driver.

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BMTC blames student

A grab from the CCTV footage from inside the bus showing the scooter overtaking the bus from the left, and the accident.

Later in the day, the BMTC released two CCTV footages from the bus involved in the accident.

The corporation said that the deceased tried to overtake the bus from the left, and applied sudden brakes to avoid hitting an autorickshaw in front, resulting in the accident.

“The above video clip was obtained from the front and rear CC cameras installed on Depot-02 bus, night halt schedule (route) No 95/6, Vehicle No- KA-57-F-3350,” the BMTC said, releasing the video.

“On careful inspection, a two-wheeler rider overtook the bus from the left side near Gayatri Nagar while operating from Shivajinagar to Kamala Nagar. While trying to do so, the two-wheeler skid and fell on the left rear wheel of the bus as there was an auto on the opposite side,” it added.