‘I usually reach by 9.50pm’: How a delayed train saved Mumbai man from tragic BEST bus crash

ADelayed local rail spared a bombay commuter train from a fateful chance event outside Bhandup railway station, where a BEST bus rammed into passengers queued at a bus stop, killing at least four people and injuring nine others on late Monday night.Santosh Shelar, who regularly takes the 606 bus from Bhandup station to Narth Nagar Ayush, was talking to HT when he said he usually reaches the station between 9.45pm and 9.50pm. However, on Tuesday, his train was delayed, and he arrived around 10.05pm – minutes after the crash.“I am shocked by what I saw there,” Shelar said, adding that until about a month ago, a mini bus operated on the route and was recently replaced with a new air-conditioned bus.‘Pressed accelerator instead of brake’The accident occurred at around 10.05pm when a Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST) bus reversed into passengers standing in a queue outside Bhandup railway station.According to preliminary information, the driver, identified as 52-year-old Santosh Ramesh Sawant, was attempting to take a U-turn to enter the adjacent bus depot when he accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake, causing the bus to ram into the waiting passengers.Local shop owners near the bus stop were among the first to respond after the crash. Dinesh Jain, who owns a shop opposite the Bhandup bus stop, said he had stepped out briefly when the accident occurred. “We all immediately rushed to help, pulled out some of the injured, and gave them water,” he said.Also Read | Mumbai BEST bus accident caught on camera; CCTV shows people panicking, rushing to safetyEyewitness blames encroachment“I heard the sound of a huge crash and ran out of my shop to see some people lying injured on the road; the bus too had been damaged,” said Bholanath Gupta, who runs a farsan shop next to the bus depot.Several eyewitnesses pointed to congestion near the station, alleging that hawkers occupying the footpath forced pedestrians and commuters to stand on the road. An eyewitness told PTI news agency that buses struggle to take a U-turn in the area due to hawker encroachment.An officer from the Bhandup police station said the lane outside the railway station is among the most congested in the suburb. “BEST passengers who queue up have no place and are forced to stand on the crowded road. There is a skywalk for pedestrians,” the officer said, adding, “but few people take it as both the bus stand and the auto stand are right under it.”Driver detainedDeputy commissioner of police (Zone 7) Hemraj Rajput confirmed that the driver has been taken into custody. He said the BEST bus is being examined to rule out any mechanical or technical fault.A BEST spokesperson said the bus involved was a 9-metre air-conditioned Olectra bus operating on a wet-lease arrangement on the 606 Ring Road route, which runs between Nagardas Nagar and Bhandup station.Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the accident.Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also termed the incident “extremely unfortunate” and announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹5 lakh to the families of the deceased.