Lucknow: A day after a sleeper bus accident on the Purvanchal Expressway in Lucknow claimed five lives, police arrested the driver and sent him to judicial custody following a medical examination that confirmed he was drunk at the time of accident.Police have also launched a hunt for the bus owner, Pradeep Kumar of Haryana, who allegedly sold the vehicle to Subhash Chand in Delhi without officially transferring ownership in the registration certificate, raising serious questions about accountability.An FIR was registered at Gosainiganj police station under Section 105 (culpable homicide) of BNS against the driver, Dara Singh, based on a complaint filed by Sulekha Devi, a native of Bihar. In her statement, she said she was travelling with her daughter Anjali, Poonam, and son Priyanshu from Punjab to Darbhanga in Bihar aboard the double-decker bus. The bus had 80-90 passengers onboard.According to the FIR, the driver was drunk and driving recklessly. Passengers kept telling him to stop, warning him he might crash, but he did not listen.The accident occurred around 4pm on Monday, shortly after the bus crossed the Gosainganj toll plaza. The driver reportedly lost control of the vehicle, causing it to overturn. Five passengers died on the spot, including Sulekha’s children, Anjali and Priyanshu, while several others suffered serious injuries.Officials suggest the ownership dispute and outdated registration details could complicate the probe, making it tough to pin down who is responsible for the fatal incident.
