Reckless bus driving claims two lives, injures 9 others in Karachi’s Site area: police

Two people were killed and nine others, including five women, were injured by a bus driver recklessly operating his vehicle on Monday, police said.

South Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Syed Asad Raza told Dawn.com that a speeding contract bus hit and ran over a rickshaw, several motorcycles and pedestrians at Bawani Chali.

As a result, two people were killed while nine others were injured, the DIG said, adding that the condition of all of the injured was critical. He said the dead and the injured were moved to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

He said the errant driver managed to escape from the spot, leaving behind his vehicle which was impounded, but was soon arrested after the police conducted raids.

The DIG said the driver held a light vehicle licence but was operating a heavy vehicle. He pointed out that the bus was contracted by a textile mill and efforts were underway to arrest the bus owner as well.

He added that the Site-A police registered a case against the driver on the complaint of injured Mohammed Muzamil, whose brother was killed in the incident.

According to the first information report, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, the suspect was booked under Sections 34 (acts done by several persons In furtherance of common intention), 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 320 (punishment for qatl-i-khata by rash or negligent driving), 322 (punishment for qatl-bis-sabab), 337G (punishment for hurt by rash or negligent driving) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Muzamil said he and his brother were riding a motorcycle to a factory where they worked when the speeding bus hit them from behind. He said they were both knocked off the bike and injured, with his brother succumbing to his wounds.

The casualties were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

This incident comes after a high-profile incident where a fast-moving SUV killed two people, including a woman, and injured three others near Karsaz.

On August 19, a speeding Toyota Land Cruiser hit three motorcycles and another car before overturning on the city’s Karsaz Road. Sixty-year-old Imran Arif and his 22-year-old daughter Amna were killed in the accident, while three others were wounded.

The driver was arrested and booked for manslaughter charges. In a court hearing on Aug 21, a counsel of the victim had called for a probe into the “kind of drug” that the suspect was allegedly under the influence of at the time of the accident.

Sindh Inspector General of Police Ghulam Nabi Memon had said the suspect’s medical report showed she was under the influence of crystal meth, although the report was not made public at the time.