Mumbai: The Shivaji Park police last week filed the chargesheet against BEST bus driver Vikas Padave for driving the bus very rashly and at a high speed before it rammed into multiple vehicles, killing a delivery boy and injuring several near Plaza theatre in Dadar (W).In the chargesheet, police dismissed Padave’s claim that there was some technical snag in the bus and stated that he allegedly lost control and crashed into three vehicles before ramming into an e-bike of the delivery boy, 28-year-old Niyaz Ahmed Moharram Ali, and injuring several others.Padave’s statement, which is part of the chargesheet, stated that at the time of the incident, the bus suddenly started moving at high speed after he stopped it at Veer Kotwal Udyan and applied the handbrake. Padave claimed he had not pressed the accelerator and repeatedly tried to apply the brakes, but they did not function properly. Regional Transport Office (RTO), meanwhile, was unable to give a conclusive opinion on whether the bus was roadworthy as the damaged vehicle was found unfit for an on-road test.The investigation also examined whether a mechanical failure could have contributed to the crash. Police obtained an inspection report from RTO, but the authorities could not give a concrete opinion regarding the roadworthiness or running condition of the bus.Investigators had also attempted to obtain CCTV footage from the bus. BEST officials informed the police that the footage was stored in the MNVR box installed in the vehicle. The box was subsequently removed from the damaged bus, sealed and seized in the presence of panch witnesses.However, investigators found no data on the hard disks. Police suspected that the storage devices may have been corrupted due to the impact of the accident. The hard disks were subsequently sent to Judicial Assistant Scientific Laboratory at Kalina for attempts to recover the data. Padave was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs, his medical report said.
