Had nothing to do with bus: JC Diwakar

Our Bureau

Anantapur: The ill-fated Volvo Bus was registered in the name of JC Uma Reddy Diwakar Roadlines, Tadipatri on 6-10-2010 in the Anantapur RTA office. Former Minister and senior Congress leader J C Diwakar Reddy, who owns the travel company, told the media here on Tuesday that they had sold the bus to Shakeel Jabbar of Bangalore two years ago, and he thus washed off his hands of any responsibility.

According the records of Anantapur RTA, a person from Bangalore got a no-objection certificate (NoC) on October 27, 2011. According to rules, a person who purchased a vehicle and got an NoC should get the vehicle registered in his name within 12 months. Even though the 12-month deadline lapsed in October last year, the bus was run illegally for the last one year. The RTA officials were ignorant of this. Irony is that the bus was passing though five districts – Anantapur, Kurnool, Mahabubnagar, Ranga Reddy and Hyderabad districts – every day without valid documents; it was never caught. It speaks volumes of the efficacy of inspection system of the transport department. When questioned, Deputy Transport Commissioner Pratap said he could not look into this aspect as he was busy with other departmental work.

Mahabubnagar: Feroz, the driver of the Jabbar Travels killer bus, escaped unhurt as he jumped out of the bus the minute he noticed fire, leaving 46 passengers to their fate. He was taken into custody by the Mahbubnagar police at Addakula.

The police suspect that the accident occurred due to rash and negligent driving. According to records, he paid toll at Alampur gate at about 4.15 am and the accident took place at about 5 am. That means he covered a distance of 75 km in 45 minutes by driving at the speed of about 130 -140 km per hour. The police are not ruling out the possibility of drunk-driving.