Woman loses finger in accident involving racing private buses in Tripunithura

Tripunithura: A woman passenger's finger was severed after it got trapped between two speeding private buses. The incident happened along the Petta-SN Junction stretch in Tripunithura when the buses brushed against each other while competing to get ahead. Hill Palace police arrested four men who were part of two private buses on Friday in connection with the incident. Police have invoked non-bailable sections against the bus crew for attempted culpable homicide.
Police identified the arrested persons as Muhammad Ashif, 22, and Shyam Unnikrishnan, 32, the drivers of the two buses and Muhaibi, 19, and Nikhil Chandran, 37, conductors of the two buses.
The latest incident highlights that, despite high court intervention, city police's efforts to curb rash driving have yielded little results.
The incident occurred on Thursday evening when the two private buses, with the same route permit, raced each other while heading towards Chottanikkara. According to police, a bus named Nadamel overtook the bus named Thavakkal near Vadakkekotta Metro station. Soon the two bus drivers engaged in competitive rash driving.
Following this, passengers in both the buses urged the drivers to slow down. They claimed that the bus crew neglected their complaints and even verbally harassed them. Police said that when the buses reached near People's Urban Bank in Tripunithura, the Thavakkal bus tried to overtake the other bus in a precarious manner. The other bus driver responded by steering the vehicle to the right, causing the Thavakkal bus driver to lose control and brush the vehicle against Nadamel.
In the impact, a woman passenger's fingers got trapped between the buses. One of her fingers was severed and another finger sustained a fracture. Another woman passenger sustained injuries to her shoulder.
Soon, Hill Palace police were alerted and the police team led by inspector AL Yesudas and sub inspector Anila rushed to the spot. The police arrested the drivers and conductors of the two buses.
All four persons were produced before the magistrate and remanded in judicial custody. Police also seized the two buses. "We will recommend MVD to cancel the route permits of the buses," the inspector said.