Private bus overturns near NH-24 in Ghaziabad, eight injured
The bus had seating and sleeper facility and was estimated to be ferrying 30-40 passengers. However, no casualty was reported in the incident.
Eight persons were injured when the private bus they were travelling in, from Anand Vihar in Delhi to Bahraich in UP, overturned near the newly constructed Model Town underpass on NH-24 on Wednesday evening.
The bus had seating and sleeper facility and was estimated to be ferrying 30-40 passengers. However, no casualty was reported in the incident.
Passengers alleged that the bus driver was drunk and was driving at a high speed. The bus, carrying a banner of ‘Aman bus service’, started around 6.15pm from Kaushambi. It overturned at a steep curve near the underpass, which connects Noida and Ghaziabad.
“Around eight-ten passengers were injured and were pulled out from the vehicle. They got trapped inside and sustained injuries but are out of danger. The bus, after it overturned, was supported by the wall of a drain, which curtailed its drop. As a result of the impact, two passengers fell into the drain and were pulled out by locals,” PK Tripathi, station house officer, Indirapuram, said.
The passengers said that they were charged Rs400 for the seating facility and an additional Rs500 for the sleeper facility. Three children of a passenger named Bholanath Pandey also sustained minor injuries. His family was on its way to his native place in Bahraich and were stranded at the spot for nearly two hours.
“We already paid a huge fare to the bus conductor for the journey. We hardly have any money left for onward journey. The bus driver was speeding from the start and his negligence led to the incident. The front tyres of the bus hit a divider and it overturned,” Pandey said.
A number of passengers did not move from the incident site as they had no money to continue their journey to Bahraich. After nearly one and half hours, the police roped in hydra cranes to pull the overturned bus and moved it to Indirapuram police station.
“The driver is not traceable. We suspect that he fled after the incident. The passengers told us that the conductor was also injured. We will try to trace him at city hospitals. A case will be lodged if any passenger comes forward with a complaint,” Tripathi said.
