Pune woke up to a morning of horror as a state transport bus driver went on a rampage from Swargate depot ramming into vehicles and mowing down pedestrians who came in his way.
The city police finally arrested the driver, Santosh Mane, 30, after almost an hour-long chase at around 9.30 am near Neelayam theatre with help from alert citizens who surrounded the bus and pulled him out.
By then he had killed nine persons and injured 27 who are admitted to Sassoon, Sahyadri and Harjeevan hospitals. The police said that he had rammed into at least 25 cars during his unbridled 25-km run on the Pune-Solapur road from Swargate.
Carnage: People gather at the scene of the accident, which killed nine people and left dozens hurt
The driver's crash damaged dozens of vehicles
Initial reports claim that the driver was mentally unstable, raising questions on the safety levels of the state transport buses widely used by travellers to commute across the state.
Shortly after 8 am, Mane, a resident of Kowthale village in Solapur and an employee of the Maharashtra State Regional Transport Corporation, reported for duty much before his scheduled time at 10 am. Without
seeking permission he got into an unattended parked bus that was scheduled for Satara, started it with a common key and zoomed out of the depot.
The bus lurched forward following the crash hitting one vehicle after another and running into pedestrians for half an hour
A few drivers and a traffic controller at the depot chased the bus to stop the driver but to no avail.
Ajit Limaye, traffic controller, said: 'We tried entering the bus but he sped away. We chased him till the exit gate.
Bus driver Santosh Mane, who hurtled down the wrong side of several of Pune's busiest streets after his arrest
'Two policemen standing there too tried stopping him.
'However, he turned right and proceeded towards Golibar Maidan on the wrong side.
'We tried chasing him on bike but we got stuck in the traffic jam.'
Once outside the depot, Mane turned to the right and knocked down a pedestrian; a few meters ahead he mowed down a rickshaw and a handcart before speeding away on the wrong side of the road.
All along, he rammed into everything that came in his way.
Within minutes, the city police started chasing him and are believed to have opened 10 rounds of fire to stop him but failed to do so.
Only at around 9.30 am when the traffic increased and curtailed his speed, Mane was caught and arrested.
Initial reports said that Mane was mentally unfit.
Meeran Borwankar, Pune's commissioner of police, said: 'The driver went berserk and kept driving the bus on the wrong side of the road.
'Policemen even opened fire on him but couldn't stop him until we nabbed him with the help of some alert pedestrians'
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