The motorcyclist involved in the bus tragedy at Chinna Tekuru in Kurnool, which left 19 passengers dead, was drunk, police said on Sunday (October 26). “The Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL-Kurnool) submitted its report confirming that the rider, B. Shiva Shankar, was drunk,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Vikrant Patil said. The SP said the viscera samples have traces of alcohol as per the RFSL report.
The private sleeper bus en route to Bengaluru from Hyderabad caught fire after hitting a bike lying on the road in the early hours of Friday. The motorcycle, ridden by Shiva Shankar of Kurnool, skidded off the road and hit the divider. Before his friend and pillion rider, Eriswamy, could remove the motorcycle, the bus hit it and erupted in flames, police said.
Police on Saturday verified the CCTV camera footage from various places on the highway, toll gate and fuel filling stations as part of their investigation. In the footage from an HP fuel station near Kia Showroom, they found Shiva Shankar and his friend entering the bunk and filling fuel worth ₹300.
The duo entered the filling station around 2.24 p.m., waited for the staff, walked out of the premises for a few minutes and then left the place after filling petrol. From there, Shiva Shankar rode the motorcycle rashly and almost fell down but managed to regain balance. A few minutes after leaving the filling station, Shiva Shankar fell down, according to police.
Meanwhile, Eriswamy reportedly told police that a couple of vehicles, including buses, had passed on the same road evading the bike that was lying on the road after they fell down. Eriswamy maintained that he tried to remove the bike from the road but the ill-fated bus hit it and dragged it for a few metres before erupting into flames.