A 45-year-old woman died and 23 other passengers sustained injuries after a DTC electric bus rammed into a metro pillar in west Delhi on Monday morning, the police said. A PCR call was received at 7.42 am at the Punjabi Bagh police station regarding a bus accident near Shivaji Park Metro Station on Rohtak Road, Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vichitra Veer said.
Preliminary investigations revealed that a DTC electric bus, plying on the route between Mangolpuri and Anand Vihar, had collided with a metro pillar, the DCP said.
"Due to the sudden braking by the bus, an auto-rickshaw also collided with it from behind. In this accident, a total of 24 passengers, including the driver and conductor, were reported injured," he said.
"A 45-year-old female passenger in the bus was declared brought dead at Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, while another passenger, a 55-year-old man, is currently in the ICU," he said.
The DCP said that of the 23 injured, 14 are being treated at Maharaja Agrasen Hospital, while the remaining 10 were taken to Acharya Bhikshu Hospital in Moti Nagar.
"An FIR has been registered under the applicable sections of law at the Punjabi Bagh police station. A crime team was called to the spot for inspection. The reason for the accident will be established based on the crime team's report and mechanical inspection of the vehicle," DCP Veer said.
A DTC official, however, claimed that "the bus was running in its designated lane".
"A motorcyclist and an autorickshaw driver suddenly made a right turn. To avoid an accident, the bus driver (of the DTC electric bus) also took a right turn but it ultimately hit the metro pillar," the official said.
(With PTI inputs)
