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Reversing BEST Bus Kills 4, Injures 9 Outside Mumbai’s Bhandup Station

Police have detained the driver, with probes focused on potential mechanical faults in the wet‑lease electric bus.

Overview

  • CCTV footage shows the Olectra midi bus reversing into pedestrians around 10:05 pm on Station Road, and police say an FIR is being registered.
  • Authorities confirmed four fatalities — Pranita Sandip Rasam, Varsha Sawant, Mansi Meghshyam Gurav and Prashant Shinde — with nine others under treatment at multiple hospitals.
  • Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced ₹5 lakh ex‑gratia for each bereaved family, and the state directed hospitals to provide free treatment to the injured.
  • The vehicle was a wet‑lease electric bus on route A‑606 attached to the Vikhroli depot; driver Santosh Ramesh Sawant was in custody while investigators examine brake and gear systems, and BEST initiated internal checks.
  • Eyewitnesses pointed to hawker encroachment narrowing footpaths near the station, and a lawyer asked the State Human Rights Commission to take suo motu cognisance as comparisons were drawn to a 2024 Kurla crash.