Guwahati: The owner of the mini-bus involved in the fatal road accident in Assam’s Kaziranga, which claimed 26 lives, was arrested by Bokakhat Police in Nagaon district on the evening of November 15.
The accused, identified as Anjir Ali, was taken into custody as investigators probed alleged traffic violations and safety lapses involving the vehicle.
Police suspect that the mini-bus owner and its driver tampered with the vehicle’s mandatory speed-control mechanism to enable more trips and earn higher fares.
Investigators also found that the vehicle had reportedly been booked multiple times for overspeeding before the fatal accident. On March 3, it was fined Rs 4,000 in Jorhat after allegedly being caught travelling at 102 kmph. The mini-bus had also received several overspeeding challans in the Kaziranga area.
Records showed that the vehicle had accumulated 12 traffic challans amounting to Rs 38,500, all of which had been paid. However, another penalty of Rs 4,000 remained outstanding.
Earlier, Golaghat Senior Superintendent of Police Swapnanil Deka said the mini-bus was travelling at high speed and had violated restrictions imposed in the vicinity of Kaziranga National Park.
Police suspect that the driver lost control of the vehicle before it collided with a container truck, resulting in the deaths of 26 people.
Deka also clarified that the outstanding Rs 4,000 penalty was the applicable fine in Assam for over speeding by a commercial vehicle.