Mumbai: Death toll rises to 8 in Kurla BEST bus accident as man succumbs to injuries

A 55-year-old man, who was among the several persons injured in the BEST bus accident in Kurla area of Maharashtra's Mumbai, died on Monday morning, taking the death toll to eight, a civic official said.

The electric bus, hired by the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking on wet-lease basis, ploughed into a crowd and fatally knocked down seven persons and injured 42 others on a crowded road in Kurla area on December 9.

In addition, the accident caused damage to a number of other vehicles.

According to a Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official, one of the injured, Fazlu Rehman, passed away on Monday morning while receiving treatment at the Sion Hospital.

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A five-person team appointed by BEST has been formed to look into the Kurla accident.

Police are holding 54-year-old driver Sanjay More on suspicion of reckless driving.

It also said that BEST would provide ?2 lakh each to the families of those who lost their lives and bear treatment expenses of the injured.

BEST administration has claimed that More received three days' training before he was allowed to drive the electric bus.

RTO authorities believe the accident, which was one of the most horrifying involving BEST buses in recent memory, may have been caused by human error and inadequate training for operating buses with automatic transmissions.

A police officer and jail guard were arrested in Navi Mumbai for taking a bribe from an inmate's brother

A police officer and a senior jail official are facing charges for allegedly receiving and demanding a bribe to cease harassing a prisoner's relative in Navi Mumbai.

Police have filed a case against Taloja Jail senior officer Nivrutti Maneji Kannewad and constable Rahul Parmeshwar Garad under the Prevention of Corruption Act in response to a complaint, an officer stated.

He stated that the complainant, whose brother is a prisoner at Taloja Jail, was reportedly asked to pay the two a bribe of ?10,000.

The complainant claimed that the two defendants at Taloja Jail had harassed his brother. According to reports, as the prisoner was taken to court for procedures, the abuse intensified.

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According to the official, the detainee told his brother at a meeting that the two authorities had asked for ?10,000 in order to end the harassment.

He stated that after looking into the accusation, the Anti-Corruption Bureau discovered that the two had taken the bribe money on Saturday.