Sidhi Bus Accident Victims' Kin Vent Anger as CM Chouhan Visits Site, Death Toll Rises to 51

Several families who lost their near and dear ones got emotional while meeting Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan as he visited Sidhi on Wednesday, after the bus tragedy which has taken 51 lives.

At several places, the affected families vented out anger seeking action against those responsible for the deaths.

Meanwhile, the transport department has initiated a week-long drive to check anomalies in passenger vehicles in the state.

The Transport commissioner Govind Singh Rajput has also asked the Transport Commissioner to probe into the Sidhi accident.

The CM cancelled several other meetings to visit Rampur Naikin in Sidhi and met affected families. Suresh Gupta, who was saved in the accident but lost his daughter-in-law and grandson, pleaded with the CM to get the road repaired so that no one else faces such fateful tragedy.

Swarnlata Dwivedi and her sister got emotional seeing the CM at their doorsteps. In tears, Swarnalata told the CM that her mother wanted her to become a nurse and was taking her for the exam but was killed in the accident.

The Chief Minister promised all possible help to the affected families and said he will try to get into the basic reasons behind the mishap.

Meanwhile, during the visit, several cars present in the CM’s cavalcade bumped into each other but none was hurt in the incident.

The bus driver who had swam to safety after the incident was arrested from Satna on Tuesday night itself. A viral video showed driver Balendra Vishwakarma saying that a sound was heard in the bus and it skidded into the canal. “A girl and I were saved by some locals who threw ropes at us”, he said.

ASP Anjulata Patle claimed that the bus carried a total of 63 passengers and three passengers had alighted the vehicle before it met the fateful incident at Patna village on Tuesday. Six passengers were saved by the locals, said the officer.

A five-month-old’s body recovered 22km away from the accident site

As rescue efforts continued on Wednesday, a five-month-old Shubhi’s body was recovered from Govindgarh in Rewa, 22km away from the accident site. Shubhi’s mother and aunt had died in the mishap. Total four bodies were recovered from the water body on Wednesday.

Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here