Asifabad police draw flak for registering non-bailable case against TGRTC bus driver

Controversy is brewing over the registration of a case of culpable homicide against an RTC driver who parked his bus on a National Highway. A jeep hit the parked bus and one person died. Police registered a culpable homicide case against the driver, leading to unrest among RTC drivers.

Kumram Bheem Asifabad: The Rebbena police have drawn sharp criticism for registering a non-bailable case against a TGRTC bus driver involved in a road accident that claimed one life and left another person injured. The issue is slowly snowballing into a controversy, with the drivers’ community planning to launch protests against the police.

In the early hours of December 23, Kamera Vijay (25), a driver from Bellampalli working with a railway contractor, was killed on the spot, while another person sustained serious injuries when a jeep rammed into a stationary bus on NH-363 at Devulaguda village in Rebbena mandal. Vijay is survived by his wife and son.

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Aggrieved family members alleged that the bus driver was responsible for Vijay’s death. They blocked traffic on the national highway for over an hour the following day, demanding action against the driver. The protest was withdrawn after the police rushed to the spot and assured them of justice by booking a case against the driver and taking stern action.

Rebbena Inspector Sanjay, who is investigating the case, said the accused driver had negligently parked the bus on the highway for a personal reason, resulting in the death of one person and injuries to another. The condition of the injured person was stated to be serious.

According to the police, a non-bailable case was registered against Dharavath Rama Rao, the bus driver, under Section 105 (culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, based on a complaint lodged by Vijay’s father, Posham. Rama Rao, a resident of Bejjur mandal, was arrested and sent to judicial remand.

However, drivers expressed regret that the Rebbena police had booked a non-bailable case against a bus driver for the first time in recent history, alleging that the police showed “over-enthusiasm” in invoking the harsh section.

They declared that they would soon boycott duties across the district and have requested Superintendent of Police Nitika Pant to review the case on Saturday.

Meanwhile, senior police officials opined that the Rebbena police should have registered a case under Section 106 (I) (causing death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita instead of invoking culpable homicide. They noted that bail can be granted at the police station if an accused is booked under this provision, and said registering a non-bailable case was not justifiable.