Overview
- A video circulating online shows a Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (KKRTC) bus on the Kalaburagi–Chincholi night service being driven without functioning headlights while the conductor used a mobile phone torch to illuminate the road.
- Reports identify the vehicle as the last service from Kalaburagi to Chincholi on the route that officials say leaves Kalaburagi around 7:30 p.m. and covers roughly 84–90 kilometres.
- Passengers in the footage and subsequent accounts say they were forced to continue the journey in near-total darkness, raising immediate safety and maintenance concerns about the KKRTC fleet.
- Karnataka opposition parties including the BJP and JD(S) seized on the footage to demand accountability, with JD(S) alleging diversion of buses bought with Kalyana Karnataka Region Development Board funds and calling for replacement of unfit vehicles.
- News outlets report there has been no immediate public response or announced probe from the state Transport Department, a gap that could prompt official inquiries or fleet inspections if pressure continues.