A court in Mumbai on Saturday sent the driver of a BEST bus involved in an accident that killed four people to 14-day judicial custody after rejecting the police plea for further remand.
The police had sought a five-day extension of police custody of driver Santosh Sawant, 52, citing follow-ups of his psychological evaluation scheduled for 4 and 5 January.
The Olectra Greentech-made electric bus of the civic-run Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking had crashed into pedestrians near Bhandup West suburban railway station on the night of 29 December, leaving four people dead and 10 others injured.
Sawant was arrested by Bhandup police under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Motor Vehicles Act for negligent driving.
He was produced before a magistrate court in Mulund on Saturday after the completion of his initial remand.
Opposing the police request for extended custody, Sawant’s lawyer Satish Rane told the court that his client’s medical tests had already been completed.
“Remand cannot be granted on the contention of taking him to the medical centre for follow ups,” Rane submitted.
Finding merit in the defence argument, the court refused to grant further police remand and ordered that the accused be sent to judicial custody.
The court, however, said the police could take Sawant for psychological evaluation follow-ups from jail.
