JAMMU: A day after a bus from Uttar Pradesh met with an accident that killed 22 people, the Jammu and Kashmir’s transport department on Friday suspended six officials including a motor vehicle inspector posted in Kathua district, the gateway to Jammu district.
The government order on the suspension of the six officials also appointed Paramvir Singh, additional secretary (technical), Secretariat of Road Safety Council, to investigate charges of dereliction of duty by the six officials in the context of the deadly accident.
The order, issued by transport secretary Niraj Kumar on Friday, did not elaborate on the reasons for the inquiry against the six officials.
It is not clear if the inquiry would go into reports that the bus which veered off the Jammu-Poonch highway and rolled down a gorge on Thursday was overcrowded, a factor that may have contributed to the accident. Locals and survivors said the bus fell into the gorge while trying to negotiate a sharp bend.
Apart from the 22 people who died, another 69 were injured in the accident.
The transport department officials who have been suspended include motor vehicle inspector Ranjeev Bhasin, junior assistant Sumit Magotra, and four multi-tasking staffers Ashwani Kumar, Aman Kumar, Keshav Singh, and Rakesh Kumar.
The bus was on its way to the Shiv Khori shrine in Reasi district when the accident took place.
Jammu district commissioner Sachin Kumar Vaishya has also ordered a magisterial probe into the accident. “DM @justcsachin has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the cause of the tragic accident near Akhnoor today. ADM Jammu shall submit a report within 7 days,” Vaishya wrote on ‘X’, formerly Twitter. Other officers have also been tasked to provide necessary assistance.
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