Kurnool (Andhra Pradesh), Nov 7 (NationPress) Two weeks after 19 passengers lost their lives in a bus fire tragedy near here, the local police apprehended the owner of the private travel agency on Friday. Vemuri Vinod Kumar, who runs V. Kaveri Travels, was taken into custody and presented before a court that subsequently placed him in judicial custody.

He is listed as accused number two in the First Information Report (FIR), with bus driver Miriyala Lakshmaiah being the primary accused, already in custody.

Both individuals are charged under the Bharat Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Sections 125(a) and 106(1) for causing death through a rash or negligent act.

The bus was on a route between Telangana and Karnataka through Andhra Pradesh, but it was originally registered in Daman and Diu in 2018 and re-registered in Odisha this year.

Moreover, the bus operator allegedly transformed a seating bus into a sleeper coach in violation of safety regulations.

On the fateful day, the bus was transporting 46 individuals, including two drivers, from Hyderabad to Bengaluru when it was involved in a horrific accident near Chinnatekur village on the outskirts of Kurnool in the early hours of October 24.

While 19 passengers, including two children, tragically perished in the fire, 27 passengers, including both drivers, managed to escape by shattering glass windows.

Among the deceased, seven hailed from Andhra Pradesh, six from Telangana, two each from Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and one each from Odisha and Bihar.

The police investigation indicated that the bus collided with a motorcycle left on the road after its rider crashed into a divider. The bus dragged the motorcycle for approximately 200 meters, igniting a massive fire due to friction and fuel leakage.

Authorities concluded that the motorcycle rider, B. Shiva Shankar (22), died upon impact with the divider, while his friend Erriswamy alias Nani, who was riding pillion, escaped with minor injuries and fled in fear after witnessing the inferno.

Following the identification of a second individual via CCTV footage captured at a petrol station shortly before the accident, police arrested Erriswamy in his home village, Tuggali, in Kurnool district, where he disclosed the circumstances leading to the mishap.

Shiva Shankar, reportedly intoxicated, died on the spot after the motorcycle he was riding skidded and collided with the divider.

Erriswamy informed police that he had attempted to shift Shiva Kumar to safety and was about to remove the motorcycle from the road when the speeding bus struck the bike and dragged it before the fire erupted.