Mumbai: Student, cleaner injured in bus mishap on JJ flyover

Abdullah Sheikh, 12, recuperating at JJ hospital with his cousin by his side

Two people, including a 12-year-old student, were injured when a school bus from Anjuman-I-Islam School near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, carrying twenty children, met with a mishap on the JJ flyover early Wednesday morning. The bus had rammed into a railing when the driver allegedly tried to overtake a vehicle. The student injured in the mishap is undergoing treatment at JJ hospital while a 22-year-old cleaner has been admitted to GT hospital.

Video footage of the incident, which is circulating on social media, shows the bus stationary after the accident, blocking both sides of the road. It also shows a two-wheeler rider and staff from a Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) vehicle rushing to assist the victims.

Mohit Kumar Garg, Zone II DCP, said, "An FIR has been registered against the bus driver, Lalukumar Snathu, 24, at Pydhonie police station, and we have arrested him." Snathu has been booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 279, 337, and 338 for rash or negligent driving and endangering the lives of others. He is also facing charges under various sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.

In hospital

The student, Abdullah Sheikh, is under observation at JJ hospital's Neurosurgery ward. "He has a head injury, minor subgaleal haematoma, which is a soft tissue injury, and a small fracture," said a doctor from the ward. Abdullah is a resident of Wadala whose family is glad that no other student has been injured in the accident and he too is safe. The doctor said, "There is no cause for concern. He is expected to recover and be discharged in the next few days."

Abdullah's cousin, Mohammed Sheikh, 32, said, "Everyone else on the bus is safe. Despite his injuries, we are thankful that our child is safe too. Police need to investigate how this accident occurred."

An assistant medical officer at GT hospital said the bus cleaner Suryabhan Kumar, 22, has lacerations (cuts) and contusions trauma (blunt trauma). "He is stable and currently admitted in the general ward. His injuries include head contusions and lacerations across his body. But we only found one piece of glass in his back, it appears he sustained other cuts during the accident," the AMO said.