Not again! BEST bus rams 6 parked vehicles in Mumbai

A wet-lease BEST bus rammed six stationary vehicles in Andheri West after allegedly rolling forward when its handbrake was released

In yet another accident involving a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) bus, a vehicle wet-leased by the undertaking rammed into six stationary vehicles near the Gokhale bridge signal in Andheri West on Monday afternoon, injuring three people.

According to the BEST’s preliminary report, the bus suddenly moved forward when the driver released the handbrake, hitting six vehicles parked ahead (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

Among those injured, 55-year-old autorickshaw driver Enus Shaikh suffered a nose injury; 30-year-old pedestrian Manojkumar Bajdev suffered blunt-force injuries to his neck; and 20-year-old motorist Anis Nisar Dhari, who was on an Activa scooter, suffered a blunt injury to the right side of his waist.

Bus rolls forward after handbrake released, hits six vehicles

According to the BEST’s preliminary report, the bus – operating on route A-221 from Andheri bus station to Versova – suddenly moved forward when the driver released the handbrake, hitting four autorickshaws, an Ertiga and an Activa scooter parked ahead of it.

According to data from the BEST, between January and May 2026, accidents involving BEST buses resulted in 10 deaths and injuries to 46 others; wet lease buses accounted for more than 85% of the incidents.

Three injured on Monday

On Monday, after the bus rolled over and rammed into the vehicles parked ahead, the conductor informed the police and, with their assistance, shifted the injured to Cooper Hospital. Shaikh and Bajdev underwent X-rays and sonography while Dhari initially declined medical treatment and proceeded to DN Nagar police station to file a complaint. He was later treated for injuries at Cooper Hospital.

The condition of all three injured was stable and they had been discharged after treatment, doctors at Cooper Hospital said.

Senior police inspector Sachin Gavas from the DN Nagar police station said that the police were in the process of registering a first information report (FIR) based on Dhari’s complaint. “The bus driver will be booked for rash driving under section 281 of BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita),” he said.

Monday’s incident came less than a month after a wet-lease BEST bus crashed into a divider near Mankhurd on July 20, killing a pedestrian and injuring 10 people. Earlier that month, another wet-lease bus rammed into 14 vehicles in Andheri West, injuring several people.

In June, a wet-lease BEST bus crashed into a bus stop near Plaza Cinema in Dadar, killing a delivery executive and injuring several others.

In fact, Monday’s incident was reminiscent of the Dadar crash, where the bus had reportedly surged forward after the handbrake was released as it had been left in driving mode.

868 wet-lease buses found with braking, steering defects

A BEST inspection conducted between April and July 2026 found defects in the braking or steering systems of 868 out of 2,553 wet-lease buses, or around 34% of the fleet. Among these, repairs had been completed on 774 buses, while 94 were still awaiting repairs as of July.

BEST committee members said the spate of recent accidents calls for tighter monitoring of wet-lease operators, driver training, maintenance and enforcement of safety protocols, particularly because private contractors now operate an overwhelming majority of the BEST’s fleet.