Almora accident: Driver, conductor, bus owner booked
Almora DM Alok Kumar Pandey said that it is difficult to pinpoint a reason for the accident and that the magisterial inquiry will make it clear.
The Uttarakhand Police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against the driver, conductor, and owner of the bus that fell into a gorge in Almora on Monday and left 36 people dead.
Station house officer Madan Mohan Joshi said the names of the three have not been mentioned in the FIR. He added they did not know that the driver, Dinesh Singh, was dead when it was registration. “The identification of conductor and owner is part of the investigation.”
The FIR was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections including 281 (rash driving), 106 (1) (causing death by negligence), and 61 (criminal conspiracy).
Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who met the injured on Monday, ordered a magisterial probe and suspended Almora and Pauri Garhwal assistant regional transport officers for alleged negligence.
Dhami on Tuesday announced the government will support a three-year-old girl who survived the accident but lost her parents. “We are committed to ensuring she receives the care and education she needs to move forward and fulfil the dreams she shared with her parents,” Dhami said on X.
Twenty-seven people were also injured when the overcrowded, speeding bus carrying people returning to work after the Diwali break from Dhumakot (Pauri Garhwal) to Ramnagar in Nainital, roughly 72km away, swerved off a sharp bend and plunged 150 metres into the gorge.
Investigators said the 42-seater was packed beyond capacity and carrying 63 passengers. Garhwal Motor Owner’s Union Limited owned and operated the bus.
Almora district magistrate Alok Kumar Pandey said it is difficult to pinpoint a reason for the accident and that the magisterial inquiry will make it clear. “We have recovered a rod of the bus that apparently broke before the accident. There appear to be several reasons for the accident. The road was wide and in good condition at the bend [where the accident happened].”
Pandey said some survivors reported the driver’s strange behaviour. “He was receiving calls during the trip to arrange money...seemingly his personal matter. Some said there was some problem with the bus. The driver asked passengers to deboard the bus if they wanted before the accident.”
Regional transport officer Dwarika Prasad said the bus had a valid fitness certificate and permit. “They were registered with the transport department in 2009 and valid until 2025,” he said.
Garhwal Motor Owner’s Union Limited secretary Harsh Vardhan Rawat said the bus rod spring broke at the bend and the vehicle tilted to one side and rolled down into the gorge. “The overcrowding has no role in the accident,” he said.