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Blueline bus kills 7 in New Delhi

— Photo: V.V. Krishnan

FURY OVER ACCIDENT: Residents of Aali village near Badarpur stone police personnel after a Blueline bus ran over several pedestrians in New Delhi on Sunday.

NEW DELHI: A Blueline bus ploughed into a crowd at a temporary bus-stop at Badarpur on Sunday morning, killing seven people, including five women and a minor boy, and injuring nine.

An angry crowd later beat up the driver, pelted stones at the police and blocked traffic on the busy Delhi-Agra highway for over two hours demanding removal of the ‘killer’ buses from the capital’s roads. The crowd also tried to set the bus on fire, forcing the police to lathi-charge and lob tear-gas shells.

Tragedy struck around 9.45 a.m. as some people were waiting for a bus near the Aali Gaon railway-bridge. The Blueline bus plying on route 460 between Badarpur and Minto Road overtook a stationary DTC bus (route 405) from the wrong side and cut into the crowd.

The bus came to a halt a few metres ahead leaving behind a trail of mangled bodies and blood.

“I was waiting for a bus when the Blueline suddenly appeared from behind the DTC bus crushing those standing near me. Thankfully, I escaped with minor injuries,” said a shaken Umesh (28), a resident of Gautampuri who works with a private firm at Nehru Place.

While five women and a child died on the spot, an elderly man succumbed to injuries at the Apollo Hospital.

The injured were rushed to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences and the Apollo. The deceased have been identified as Taufiq (4), Babli (30), Satna Devi (50), Beena (30), Fattuman (45), Sitara (27) and Inder Bhan (50), all residents of Ballabhgarh in Haryana. The injured were identified as four-month-old Neha, Daman (4), Chetan (52), Guljari Lal (55), his wife Phoolwati (50), Ranji Lal (45), Radhey Shyam (48) and Umesh.

The bus driver tried to flee from the spot, but he was overpowered by bystanders and beaten up. He was rescued by the police and admitted to the AIIMS with injuries. As news of the accident spread, locals gathered at the spot shouting slogans against the Delhi government and the police.

They pelted stones, damaging the windscreen and windowpanes of the bus. Area residents blocked traffic on the highway, demanding that the bus driver be handed over to them. They accused the government of giving false promises about phasing out the ‘rogue’ Blueline buses. The Delhi Armed Police personnel were deployed in the area to prevent any further trouble.

The Delhi government has announced a compensation of Rs.1 lakh to the next of kin of those killed in the accident and free treatment to the injured. The government also ordered a probe seeking a report on the accident within two days.

The police have registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and arrested the 40-year-old driver, Anil Kumar. The permit of the vehicle, which has already been challaned 13 times, has been cancelled.

Over 90 people have been killed in accidents involving Blueline buses in the capital so far this year.

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