GHAZIABAD: The driver of a Rajasthan Roadways bus was killed and 44 others were injured when the bus ploughed into the rear of a mini-truck on Meerut Road in Ghaziabad on Sunday. Seven of the seriously injured have been referred to a hospital in Delhi.The accident took place ahead of an eatery near Vardhmanpuram police outpost on Meerut Road, an erstwhile stretch of NH-58, around 4am when most passengers were asleep. The victim has been identified as Babu Lal Saini (50), driver of the ill-fated bus that belonged to Rajasthan State Roadways Transport Corporation. The front portion of the bus was badly damaged.According to police, there were 48 passengers in the bus which was on its way to Haridwar. The bus conductor, Mahipal Singh, who has been admitted to Combined Hospital in Sanjay Nagar, told TOI that the bus had started from Jalore depot in Rajasthan at around 8.45am on Saturday. “We had crossed 33 halts till Delhi-UP border. There was no stop in Ghaziabad and we were expected to reach Haridwar by 7.30 am. A driver, Surajmal, had driven the bus from Jalore to Jaipur. Babu Lal Saini, the driver who has been killed, took over from Surajmal when the bus left Jaipur at 8.05 am. Most of the passengers were sleeping and therefore had no idea as to how exactly the accident took place. I was sleeping on my seat and probably passed out when the accident took place. When I regained my consciousness, I was being hauled inside an ambulance by cops. I have a fracture on my left leg and injuries in my hip region,” Singh told TOI.Investigations are underway to find the exact cause of the accident. “The mini-truck driver, Netrapal, was questioned. He said he applied sudden brakes when a vehicle travelling from Meerut to Ghaziabad suddenly took a U-turn through a cut on the road divider right in front of his vehicle. The bus, which was on a high speed, probably crashed into the rear of the mini-truck at this point of time. The truck was on its way from Loni to Meerut,” local police outpost in-charge Balram Yadav said.The police are trying to figure out whether the driver of the mini-truck had parked his vehicle on the road that could have led to the accident. According to police, a total of 44 persons were injured including 22 men, 19 women and three kids.The driver and 28 passengers were taken to Sanjay Nagar Combined Hospital. “The driver had been brought dead to the hospital. Two of the 28 passengers were serious with head injuries. We referred them to GTB Hospital in Delhi. The other patients are stable. Some of them have also been relieved from the hospital,” chief medical superintendent (CMS) of Sanjay Nagar Hospital, Dr Dinesh Sharma told TOI.The police rushed 16 passengers to MMG Hospital. “Five were immediately referred to GTB Hospital in Delhi as they were critical. Family members of two other passengers also wanted better treatment. So they too were taken to GTB Hospital. Four patients shifted to other hospitals out of their own volition. Five patients are at present admitted but they are stable,” said the CMS of MMG Hospital, Dr Jitendra Tyagi The police have registered an FIR in Muradnagar police station under sections 279 (rash driving), 304A (causing death due to negligence) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering the life of others) of IPC. The mini-truck bearing a Haryana registration number has been seized.“We rushed the passengers immediately to hospitals in whatever vehicles we had at the police station. The truck driver, Netrapal, has been arrested. Till now we have not been able to ascertain which vehicle was at bigger fault . The bus seemed to be travelling at a high speed too,” SHO, Muradnagar, Ranveer Singh told TOI.

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