'Drunk drivers, fake certificates': Kurnool bus tragedy exposes deep flaws that led to 20 deaths

Kurnool bus fire

The deadly bus fire in Kurnool that claimed 20 lives has revealed a troubling mix of negligence, fake documents as well as safety violations.

Investigators have found that the driver of the double-decker bus, Miriyala Lakshmaiah, was operating with a fake Class 10 certificate, despite having studied only till Class 5. Under existing transport rules, a person must have studied at least up to Class 8 to be eligible for a heavy vehicle licence.

The events that led to the fire incident involving the bus began with a separate accident on the highway near Chinna Tekuru. Two men on a motorcycle, identified as Shiva Shankar and Erri Swami, met with a crash after their bike hit a divider.

Shankar died on the spot, while Swami sustained injuries. Moments later, a bus ran over the fallen bike, dragging it along the road until the motorcycle’s fuel tank exploded, setting the double-decker bus ablaze.

As many as 20 passengers were trapped and burned alive, while others managed to escape by breaking an emergency window.

Kurnool Range Deputy Inspector General Koya Praveen confirmed that both men on the bike were under the influence of alcohol. The two ate at a dhaba that night, and Swami admitted to consuming liquor, he told PTI, adding that CCTV footage from a petrol pump showed Shankar riding rashly before the crash.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar condemned the incident in strong terms, calling it an act of criminal recklessness rather than a simple mishap. “Drunk drivers are terrorists and their actions are nothing short of acts of terror on our roads. The horrific Kurnool bus accident, which claimed the lives of 20 innocent people, was not an accident in the truest sense. It was a preventable massacre, caused by the reckless and irresponsible behaviour of an intoxicated biker,” he said on X, adding that Hyderabad police will show no mercy to anyone driving drunk.

Kurnool Police Chief Vikrant Patil told NDTV that two other buses had narrowly avoided colliding with the motorcycle before the luxury bus ran over it. The drunk biker is at fault as far as the bike crash is concerned. But the negligence case against the bus driver remains open because he failed to spot a stationary obstruction on the road, he said, according to reports.

Meanwhile, the probe has also turned its focus to the travel company that owned the bus. Investigators have uncovered multiple safety violations, including the illegal conversion of the vehicle into a sleeper coach, suspicious re-registration tactics to avoid scrutiny, and the absence of emergency safety tools like window-breaking hammers.