Poornima Swaminathan

Mumbai: For the first time, a BEST driver was made to pay his own bail after he was arrested for mowing down a woman on Thursday.

Krishna Bhople, 44, who was driving on route number 512 rammed into a motorbike instantly killing pillion rider Madhuri Kuvelekar, 45. The incident took place around 10.30pm near Dadar TT. Kuvelekar was rushed to Sion hospital but was declared dead before admission.

Police said Bhople tried to flee the spot after the incident but he was nabbed by a police patrol.

On October 23, the transport body had taken a decision not to bail out drivers charged with negligent driving.

The stern measure was taken to check the rise in fatal accidents involving its employees. BEST officials said negligent driving was a “criminal activity” and the drivers would no longer be protected by the undertaking.

Matunga police station, where the case has been registered, confirmed that Bhople’s relatives had paid the bail amount of Rs3,000. Bhople was charged for rash driving and causing death due to negligence.

Source : DNA