Kurla BEST bus mishap death toll rises to 8

The deceased was injured along with his wife, daughter, and granddaughter when they had stepped out to purchase groceries late in the evening

MUMBAI: A 58-year-old vegetable vendor who was injured when a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) electric bus went out of control in Kurla last week died on Sunday, taking the death toll in the mishap to eight. The deceased was injured along with his wife, daughter, and granddaughter when they had stepped out to purchase groceries late in the evening.

Kurla BEST bus mishap death toll rises to 8

Fazlu Rehman Ahmed Pasha Shaikh, the vegetable vendor, lived in a chawl near Ramba Towers, Gangawadi in Ghatkopar West. He was severely injured in his chest and lower limbs on December 9, when the BEST electric bus ploughed into a crowd on SG Barve Road in Kurla West. He was admitted at Sion Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries on Sunday night, said police.

According to family members, Shaikh and his wife, Asmatunissa, were visiting their daughter Nagma Shaikh, who lives in LIG Colony in Kurla, on December 9. The three of them had stepped out with Nagma’s six-year-old daughter to buy some groceries when they were hit by the bus.

“After buying groceries, Nagma was supposed to return to her home with her daughter while Shaikh and his wife were supposed to proceed to their house in Ghatkopar. When they were near Sheetal Sweets on SG Barve Road, the speeding bus rammed into them,” said the deceased’s nephew Abdul Rauf Shaikh.

His uncle’s condition had improved during treatment and the doctors had removed his ventilator support, he said. “He was even speaking to us. But on Sunday night, the doctors declared him dead.”

The family has not told Shaikh’s wife Asmatunissa, who is recovering from head injuries in Habib Hospital in Kurla, about his death yet, said Abdul. “We will take the body after post-mortem and then decide about the last rites,” he noted.

Police said Shaikh’s daughter Nagma, who is pregnant, was also injured in the accident, but her baby was unharmed. Her six-year-old daughter Miskat, who suffered head injuries, was also out of danger, they noted.

The deceased is survived by his wife, three daughters, and a son, said family members. Two of his daughters are married, while his son works as a delivery boy.

One more person who was injured in the accident, identified as Mehtab Shaikh, 22, is still battling for his life at Sion hospital, said police.