Murder cases against bus owners if a repeat of Kurnool happens: Minister

Telangana Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar has warned the private bus operators that the Government will not hesitate to book murder cases against the owners of the private bus operators if they endanger the lives of innocent people by running vehicles with poor maintenance and lapsed permits and other documents.

“Please don’t play with the lives of the people by trying to operate buses with poor quality. We will not hesitate to book murder cases against you. If we conduct raids on the buses, you accuse us of doing with ulterior motives. Is this the way, the lives of innocent people are at stake,” he warned after a road accident in Chinnatekur village near Kurnool district in the early hours of Friday.

Follow the Kurnool bus accident LIVE updates

He said in wake of the accident, he would take initiative to hold a meeting of the Transport ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka to discuss on how the curb the menace of private bus operators, who flout all rules and regulations. “I will personally talk to the two Transport ministers and shortly meet to discuss the pros and cons of handling such situations in future,” he said.

Mr. Prabhakar lamented that the buses operated by private managements did not adhere to the traffic rules. Overspeeding and reckless driving was order of the day putting the lives of people at stake, he said adding that the Telangana Government would crack down on such incidents ruthlessly in future.

The Transport Minister said as soon as he was informed, he had contacted the AP Transport Minister, Kurnool Collector and SP to take up relief and rescue operations on a war footing. “Our officials are in constant touch with the A.P. Government and officials to help the victims and their families,” he added.