Kurla accident: Cops seek help from Olectra experts

Kurla police seek Olectra's expertise in investigating a fatal e-bus accident, focusing on training and agreements related to vehicle operation.

MUMBAI: The Kurla police on Friday sought help from experts from Olectra, manufacturers and operator of the Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Utility’s e-bus which rammed into vehicles and pedestrians in Kurla on Monday, killing seven and injuring 42 others. The experts will join the probe on Saturday.

Mumbai, India. Dec 13, 2024: BEST bus services resumed along Kurla West Station Road four days after a bus accident that resulted in 7 people killed and 49 injured. Mumbai, India. Dec 13, 2024: (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Hindustan Times)

An investigating officer from Kurla police station said the move is crucial to study the agreements BEST entered into with Olectra and manpower suppliers. It would help them understand the training process of employees and functioning of the vehicle.

Apart from being a manufacturer, Olectra is also one of the six wet-lease operators for BEST. It has appointed a third party to provide manpower such as drivers and technical staff for their buses.

“We have called a technical expert from the team that designed the 12-metre-long e-bus that was involved in the accident on Monday. It was driven by Sanjay More, 54, who has been working with BEST through a contractor that supplied manpower to the civic undertaking. More has maintained that he lacked training to drive the advanced electric vehicle powered by 3,000 NM (Newton-Metre) system,” said a police officer investigating the incident.

“While More has claimed that the bus went out of control and he just could not stop it in time, the RTO (regional transport office) officials have found no technical issues with the bus and said that its brakes were working properly,” said the police officer. He added that they are now waiting for a report from BEST. The transport utility’s technical team is independently examining the working of the vehicle and will furnish the report soon.

Police said, prima facie they have learnt everyone was trained at BEST’s training centre in Dindoshi. “We are understanding the terms and conditions, and the training required to be given to every driver so that we can understand where the fault lay,” said the police officer.