Six officials, including a motor vehicle inspector, have been dismissed and authorities in Jammu and Kashmir have launched a magisterial-level inquiry into a bus accident that claimed 22 lives and left 70 injured here on Thursday, May 30.
District Magistrate Jammu, Sachin Kumar Vaisshya, said, "It is imperative on the part of the administration to thoroughly inquire into the circumstances” leading to the accident to ascertain its causes and avert future recurrences."
Shishir Gupta, IAS, Additional District Magistrate, Jammu, has been entrusted with conducting the inquiry and submitting the report within seven days.
The UT administration has suspended six officials following the accident, including Ranjeev Bhasin, motor vehicle inspector; Sumit Magotra, junior assistant; and four MTS staff: Ashwani Kumar, Aman Kumar, Keshav Singh, and Rakesh Kumar.
The order for the magisterial probe mandates cooperation from key authorities, including the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Jammu; SSP Traffic (City Jammu); Regional Transport Officer, Jammu; and SE Jammu North Public Works Department.
Their collaboration is crucial in facilitating a thorough and impartial investigation into the accident. The accident occurred near Tandha Morh on the Jammu-Poonch Highway in Akhnoor on Thursday.
The bus, believed to be carrying pilgrims from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, veered off the road and fell into a gorge.
Rescue operations were launched soon after the incident, said an official.
According to an official report from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), 4,287 lives were lost in road accidents in Jammu and Kashmir from 2018 to 2022.
In 2023, as per official data from the traffic police, 883 individuals were killed and 8,456 were injured in 6,288 accidents across the Union Territory. Specifically, 171 fatalities occurred in Jammu district alone.
Additionally, in the current year, up until the end of March, 185 people have lost their lives and 1,530 have sustained injuries in 1,214 road accidents.
Many of these accidents, particularly those in mountainous areas such as Doda, Kishtwar, Rajouri, and Poonch, have been attributed to sharp curves and human error.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi, while reacting to the incident, announced ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the next of kin of the deceased in the May 30 accident and Rs 50,000 for the injured.
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