Mumbai bus accident: Eyewitness blames presence of hawkers

What began as an ordinary Monday evening near Mumbai’s bustling Bhandup railway station turned into a scene of horror, as encroached footpaths and swelling crowds forced pedestrians onto the road — a deadly convergence that claimed four lives and left nine others injured.

According to an eyewitness, the sidewalk outside the station had been taken over by hawkers, pushing people onto the carriageway just as a BEST bus moved through the congested stretch. The area, perennially crowded and especially busy in the evenings due to vendors selling vegetables at lower prices, became a trap for unsuspecting passersby.

“I was waiting at a nearby bus stop when I heard a loud thud,” recalled Saimini Mudaliyar, a pharmacist who witnessed the accident. “In the next moment, I saw people being flung aside. The bus came to a halt a little ahead, and within seconds, people began lifting and pushing it because several were trapped underneath.”

Mudaliyar described a harrowing aftermath — blood streaming across the road and bodies lying still beneath the vehicle. “One person’s head appeared smashed, as if the bus had run over it. Another had a severe injury near the thigh,” she said, her voice trembling as she recounted the chaos.

The accident occurred between 9.35 pm and 9.45 pm, a time when terminating buses struggle to execute U-turns outside Bhandup station amid dense crowds and roadside encroachments. Mudaliyar pointed out that this was not an isolated tragedy, recalling a similar incident involving a BEST electric bus in Kurla last year that killed nine people. She demanded a thorough investigation and questioned why innocent citizens continue to pay the price for systemic failures, also urging police to examine whether the driver, later identified as Santosh Sawant, was under the influence.

Deputy commissioner of police Hemaraj Rajput said the victims were pedestrians who had stepped out of their homes and were returning when the tragedy struck. He assured that the investigation would probe all angles, including the condition of the vehicle, though immediate attention was focused on rescuing the injured.

In the aftermath, shutters came down swiftly across shops in the busy stretch, and a heavy police presence remained through the night. The accident site was cordoned off as forensic teams collected samples, the once-lively station road falling into a grim, stunned silence — a stark reminder of how crowded streets and neglected footpaths can turn fatal in an instant.

With PTI inputs