Two youth were killed in a bike accident allegedly involving a BEST bus in Khar (east) in the early hours of Friday. The bus driver fled from the spot without rendering help, but was nabbed later in the day.
The Nirmal Nagar police said that the incident took place at around 12.30 am, near old Bandra Terminus BEST chowky. However, the police has not been able to ascertain the sequence of events.
“Those who had informed us said that they saw the two lying on the ground and the BEST bus speeding away. One of the witnesses noted down some part of the registration number due to which we traced the bus and its driver,” said investigating officer, sub-inspector Swati Gaware.
The deceased Ramji Varchand (19) and Ishwar Balaji Nishani (17) were labourers and friends. It is not clear as to who was driving, but Varchand did not have a licence and Nishani was a minor. The bike barely had a scratch and the two had no external injuries. They died of severe internal injuries, stated their autopsy report.
Shocked at the apathy of the passersby, a police officer said, “The two were lying on the ground battling for life. But for 10 minutes, passersby did not care to inform us. A doctor said that Nishani could have been saved, had he been brought to the hospital in time”
Suspecting that the BEST bus hit them, the police has arrested the driver Ramakant Saroj (47) for negligence.