Kurnool bus fire: ‘Drunk drivers are terrorists,’ says Hyderabad CP Sajjanar

Hyderabad Police Commissioner, VC Sajjanar, has termed drunk drivers as “terrorists” and called the Kurnool bus fire a “criminal act of negligence that annihilated entire families within seconds”.

Even as transport authorities in Telangana continue their crackdown on private buses for violations of safety and fitness norms, Sajjanar took to social media portal X on Sunday (October 26) to declare that the Hyderabad police would adopt “a zero-tolerance stance against drunk driving”.

What happened on the ill-fated night

The police have pieced together what happened early on Friday (October 24) when the ghastly accident took place in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool as the ill-fated bus was on its way from Hyderabad to Bengaluru.

Also read: Kurnool bus fire: Biker was drunk, say police as they piece together night’s events

It all started with two drunk men on a bike riding along that same road, with the bike skidding on a wet road even as the rider was unstable, as shown by CCTV footage captured at a petrol bunk minutes earlier. As the bike skidded, the driver, B Shiva Shankar, died at once, while the pillion-rider, Erriswamy, failed to remove the bike from the road quickly enough.

The driver of the sleeper bus failed to spot the fallen bike on the road, rammed into it, dragged it along until its fuel tank burst, sparking a fire that was turned into an inferno, thanks to an illegal cargo of 234 smart phones in the bus’s belly. The lithium-ion batteries of the phones, combined with the bus’s batteries and other flammable items, acted as a bomb that made the bus turn into an inferno that left 19 people charred to death.

Hyderabad top cop’s post

“Drunk drivers are terrorists. Period,” started Sajjanar’s X post.

“Drunk drivers are terrorists and their actions are nothing short of acts of terror on our roads. The horrific Kurnool bus accident, which claimed the lives of 20 innocent people, was not an accident in the truest sense. It was a preventable massacre, caused by the reckless and irresponsible behaviour of an intoxicated biker. This was not a road mishap but a criminal act of negligence that annihilated entire families within seconds,” he went on.

Also read: Kurnool bus fire: 234 smartphones in luggage cabin likely intensified blaze

“The biker, identified as B. Shiva Shankar, was under the influence of alcohol. CCTV footage shows him refueling his motorcycle at 2:24 a.m., minutes before he lost control and caused the devastating collision at 2:39 a.m. His decision to drive drunk turned a moment of arrogance into a tragedy of unimaginable scale,” the post continued.

“I stand firmly by my statement that DRUNK DRIVERS ARE TERRORISTS in every sense. They destroy lives, families, and futures. Such acts will never be tolerated.

“In Hyderabad, we are adopting a zero-tolerance stance against drunk driving. Every single person caught driving under the influence will face the full force of law. There will be no leniency, no exceptions, and no mercy for those who endanger innocent lives. It’s time we, as a society, stop calling drunk driving a mistake. It is a crime that shatters lives and must be punished accordingly,” Sajjanar concluded.

Crackdown on buses continues

The Telangana transport department started inspections on Saturday morning, a day after the accident. A transport department official told news agency PTI that 14 cases were booked for offences such as inadequate safety measures, and penalties amounting to Rs 46,000 were collected.

Also read: Kurnool Bus Fire: Two drivers booked for negligence, overspeeding

Nearly 500 inter-state private travel buses operate from Hyderabad daily. Telangana Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar had said he would meet his Andhra and Karnataka counterparts to frame measures to prevent bus accidents amid heavy inter-state traffic.

He warned private bus operators of strict action if they failed to maintain vehicle fitness and comply with statutory regulations. “The owners should follow rules and ensure that the buses do not overspeed, as private buses are known to travel at high speed,” he added.

(With agency inputs)