Mumbai: The Kurla police have filed a charge sheet against BEST bus driver Sanjay More, revealing that he was medically unfit to drive when he lost control of his bus on December 9, 2024, killing nine pedestrians and injuring 37 others.
More, 54, was found to have poor eyesight and high blood pressure, conditions that should have disqualified him from operating a bus. The charge sheet, submitted on February 7, also names the contractor and subcontractor responsible for his hiring, holding them accountable for negligence.
The tragic incident occurred around 10:30 pm when More, driving route 332 from Kurla to Andheri, lost control of the bus. It ploughed through pedestrians and vehicles over a 100-meter stretch before crashing into a building wall. More was arrested on the spot under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Mandatory Medical Fitness Test Not Conducted
The 1,047-page charge sheet names More as the main accused while also listing Evey Trans (Mumbai) Pvt Ltd and Morya Trans India Pvt Ltd as co-accused. Investigators discovered that Morya Trans, which hired More on December 1, had failed to conduct a mandatory medical fitness test, as reported by Mid-day.
An officer stated, “Our examination revealed that More had both long- and short-distance vision impairments and suffered from high blood pressure. The subcontractor failed to produce his medical fitness certificate.”
Additionally, More had no prior experience driving electric, automatic buses, having spent most of his career operating manual ones. “The agreement required the driver to have prior experience with a similar category of vehicle, but More admitted he received no proper training,” the officer added.
Initially, the police did not investigate the contractors, but after two months of persistent reports, they booked Ramanad Suryawanshi, CEO of Morya Trans India Pvt Ltd and Ramesh Katigandla, director of Evey Trans India Pvt Ltd.
Lapses In Hiring & Training Process
The report citing the charge sheet also highlighted that Evey Trans, an Andhra Pradesh-based firm, had an agreement to supply both buses and drivers for BEST but subcontracted the hiring process to Pune-based Morya Trans India. Further investigations revealed that Evey Trans failed to provide adequate training. More’s training consisted of only two short rounds lasting 5–10 minutes at the Dindoshi bus depot before he was assigned duty.
The police have booked More, Suryawanshi and Katigandla under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 118 (voluntarily causing hurt), 3 (common intention), and other relevant provisions of the BNS and the Motor Vehicles Act.
