The Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Enforcement, who investigated the recent accident at Anjumoorthy Mangalam, Vadakkanchery, has found that speeding and negligence caused the ghastly crash that claimed nine lives.
The RTO submitted his inquiry report to the Transport Commissioner on Saturday, and said that the tourist bus could not control itself as the KSRTC bus reduced its speed. The report also said that the electronic speed controlling unit of the tourist bus had not been working.
The RTO report further has given a clean chit to the KSRTC bus driver. An inquiry conducted by the District Transport Officer too had found no issue with the KSRTC bus driver.
The tourist bus driver Jomon had claimed that he crashed into the KSRTC bus as it suddenly stopped. The RTO report has refuted Jomon’s claim, and said that the KSRTC bus had not attempted to stop at the site where the accident took place on the National Highway 544 on Wednesday midnight. The RTO report said that the KSRTC bus lost its balance after having been rammed on its right back side by the tourist bus.
Tourist bus driver Jomon and owner Arun were arrested and remanded in judicial custody for two weeks. The bus owner was arrested on charges of abetting the crime. Police said they were yet to get the confirmation whether Jomon had been drunk when the accident took place.
Police said they were zeroing in on the people who reportedly helped Jomon to escape from Vadakkenchery after the accident. Police started collecting the statements of the passengers and the staff of the KSRTC bus that was involved in the accident.
Apart from a teacher and five students of Baselios Vidyanikethan Senior Secondary School, Vettikkad, three passengers of the KSRTC bus too were killed in the accident. The school team was on an excursion to Ooty in the tourist bus.
Police and Motor Vehicle Department sources said they would examine more surveillance camera footages to ascertain if the tourist bus had been speeding all along as alleged.
It was found that the bus had violated the speed limit a few seconds before the accident, and alert messages had been sent to the owner’s mobile phone. Those messages are likely to serve as proof in the case.
The police will submit its report into the accident before the High Court on Monday. The High Court has summoned the police officer investigating the accident.
Dy.SP R. Asokan will submit his report before the High Court on Monday. He said he was gathering information from various sources, including the passengers of both buses involved in the accident.
Meanwhile, police released two persons, including the manager of the tourist bus, who had been taken into custody following the accident. They were found to have had no direct connection with the accident.
