One killed, 34 injured as DTC bus rams into metro pillar in west Delhi

New Delhi: A woman died and 34 people were injured when a DTC bus they were travelling in rammed into a pillar near Shivaji Park metro station in west Delhi on Monday morning, police said.

Punjab Bagh police station received a call regarding the accident at 7.42 am, they said.

A DTC electric bus, plying on the route between Mangolpuri and Anand Vihar Bus Terminal, crashed into the metro pillar. As the bus driver suddenly applied the brakes, an autorickshaw rammed into it from behind, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vichitra Veer said.

"A 45-year-old woman passenger of the bus was declared dead at Maharaja Agrasen Hospital while another passenger, a 55-year-old man, is in the ICU," the DCP said.

Police said 34 people, including the driver and conductor, were injured in the accident.

An FIR has been registered in the matter under sections 281 (negligent driving), 125A (endangering the life of others) and 106 (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), they said.

A Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) official said, "The bus was running in its designated lane. A motorcyclist and an autorickshaw driver suddenly took a right turn and to avoid hitting them, the bus driver also turned right and hit the metro pillar." A senior police officer said statements of the bus driver and conductor have been recorded.

"We are also recording the statements of passengers for more clarity on how the accident took place," the officer said.

Police teams will also check the footage of the CCTV camera inside the bus and those installed in nearby areas to ascertain the sequence of events, the officer said.

According to the bus driver's statement, he lost control of the vehicle when the motorcycle and the autorickshaw moving ahead took a sharp right turn. He claimed he tried to stop the bus to avoid a collision, the police said.

The senior police officer said teams have been formed to investigate the incident and efforts are on to gather more information about the passengers.

"So far, we know that the woman who died in the accident was the sole breadwinner of her family. Her family members are in deep shock," the officer said.

The police will also probe if the bus driver was over-speeding or if there was any technical fault in the vehicle, the officer said.

Nanhe, who was returning home to Ghazipur with his wife Lakshmi after meeting their daughter in Mangolpuri, claimed the driver was speeding.

"The bus driver was driving very rashly. We were thrown out of our seats when the bus hit the pillar," he said.

Usman, a resident of Nihal Vihar who was travelling in the autorickshaw, said he was taking his wife Shahjahan to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.

"The bus driver suddenly applied the brakes and the autorickshaw driver could not apply the brakes fast enough. As a result, the autorickshaw hit the bus from behind and we sustained minor injuries," he said.