Rapido captain, pillion rider killed after BMTC e-bus knocks down two-wheeler in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: An electric BMTC bus ran over two people on a two-wheeler on Old Airport Road in southeastern Bengaluru on Wednesday night, killing them on the spot.

The incident occurred around 10 pm near the Isro UR Rao Satellite Centre Signal. Police sources said the deceased were a Rapido driver and his pillion rider.

The Jeevan Bima Nagar traffic police identified the rider as Tapas (33), a native of West Bengal, and the pillion rider as Aditya Bose (31), a private firm employee from the same state.

"The rider's phone and other belongings were also crushed in the crash. We identified him through his Aadhaar card," an inspector said.

The driver and conductor of the bus (KA 51 AJ 6167), which was traveling from Majestic to Kadugodi, fled the scene. By Thursday morning, the police had traced the driver, but the conductor remained absconding.

Passersby helped the police retrieve the bodies from under the bus. Traffic was disrupted due to the crash.

The BMTC, in a preliminary investigation, claimed that another car was involved. According to its statement, the two-wheeler first collided with an oncoming car while attempting to overtake the bus, causing the riders to fall under the rear wheels.

The police have filed an FIR under sections 281 and 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and are piecing together the sequence of events. The inspector noted that a Nethra camera installed nearby was non-functional, so no recording of the incident exists.

"We haven't been able to retrieve dashcam footage from the bus showing the road — only footage from inside the vehicle is available. We also need to determine if the rider was under the influence of alcohol. Blood samples have been sent for testing," he added.