Kurnool bus fire tragedy that killed 20 ‘caused’ by drunk biker, report cites ‘conclusive proof’ from forensic finding

A BENGALURU-bound private bus that caught a massive fire in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district on October 24 killing 20 people, may have been “caused” by a drunk biker, a forensic report said, with DIG K Praveen asserting “conclusive proof”, according to the Indian Express.

The ill-fated bus, carrying 41 passengers, collided with bike of B Shiva Shankar who lost his life in the accident. He was “under the influence of alcohol” when his two-wheeler slipped on a wet road and toppled. The police have reportedly gathered during questioning that the pillion rider, Swamy, had attempted to move the biker and the motorcycle to safety beforehand.

“The driver was inebriated and the headlight of the bike was not working. As the result of rash driving under the influence of alcohol, the bike met with an accident,” Indian Express quoted K Praveen, DIG Kurnool as saying.

“The bus came in contact with the bike which was lying near the divider. The bus ran over the bike and dragged it for about 300 metres, after which the explosion that caused the fire took place. There was enough evidence to suggest that the biker was under the influence. But we now have conclusive proof because the viscera sample which we collected has tested positive for alcohol,” DIG Praveen told Indian Express.

Shiva hailed from B. Thandrapadu village in Kurnool, roughly 20 km from Chinnatekur, where the accident took place. He was employed in the granite industry. He left home on Thursday evening, informing his mother, B. Yashoda, that he had some work in Dhone.

Many passengers were asleep and lost their lives without realizing the bus had caught fire around 3 AM. The blaze destroyed the sleeper bus, leaving only a metal frame, a report by PTI noted. Several bodies were so badly burned that officials had to call forensic teams to collect DNA samples of those who lost their lives.

Among those on board were a few tech professionals, including one heading to Bengaluru for an interview at a leading IT company. District Collector A Siri said that the majority of the passengers were from Hyderabad.

Meanwhile, PM Modi paid condolences over the loss of lives in the incident. "Extremely saddened by the loss of lives due to a mishap in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh," PM Modi said in a post on ‘X’, adding, “An ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given ₹50,000.”

Chandrababu Naidu, his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy, AP deputy CM Pawan Kalyan, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar also expressed grief over the death of 20 people.