Woman dead, 24 hurt as DTC bus rams into Metro pillar

Samad Hoque

New Delhi, July 22

A 45-year-old woman died and 24 others, including the driver and conductor, were injured when the electric DTC bus they were travelling in rammed into Metro pillar 146 in West Delhi on Monday morning.

The accident happened near Shivaji Park Metro Station, the police said, adding that the Punjabi Bagh police station got a call regarding this at 7.42 am.

The bus was plying on the route between Mangolpuri and Anand Vihar Bus Terminal. As the bus driver suddenly applied brakes, an auto-rickshaw collided with it from behind.

“Fourteen passengers were shifted to Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, while 10 passengers were taken to the Acharya Bhikshu Hospital, Moti Nagar. Unfortunately, a female passenger was declared brought dead at the hospital. An injured passenger, aged about 55, is currently in the ICU,” said DCP, West District, Vichitra Veer.

Sunita (45), who suffered several injuries, was admitted to Maharaja Agrasen Hospital. Her niece Meena said, “Sunita has suffered a femur fracture and had injuries to her thigh. Four of her lower incisors broke. Her husband was also with her, but fortunately, he did not suffer any major injuries.”

Sunita lives in Begumpur, Rohini, Sector 22, and both she and her husband were on their way to work. They are both employees at the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

At MGS Hospital, Manju (26) sat in pain in a wheelchair waiting for treatment. Manju had come to her sister’s home in Mangolpuri for the weekend and was on her way back home with her parents and niece.

“They had left half an hour ago when we got the call about the accident,” said Amlesh, her brother-in-law.

Manju’s mother sustained injuries to her legs, her father suffered injuries to the back of his head and Amlesh’s eight-year-old daughter received wounds and cuts on her legs.

An FIR under Sections 281 (negligent driving) and 125A (endangering the life of others) and Section 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered in the matter.

“A crime team was called to the spot for inspection. The reason for the accident will be established based on their report and mechanical inspection of the vehicle,” the officer added.

A Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) official claimed that “the bus was running in its designated lane”. “A motorcyclist and an autorickshaw driver suddenly made a right turn. To avoid an accident, the bus driver (of the DTC electric bus) also took a right turn but it ultimately hit the Metro pillar,” the official said.