6 Transport Ministry officials suspended – Kashmir Reader

Jammu: Six officials of the Jammu and Kashmir transport department were suspended on Friday for alleged dereliction of duty, a day after 22 people were killed and 69 injured in a bus accident in Jammu district.
The tragic incident took place on Thursday when the bus carrying 91 devotees from Kurukshetra (Haryana) heading to Shiv Khori shrine in Reasi district (Jammu and Kashmir) veered off the Jammu-Poonch highway and plunged into a 150-foot-deep ravine. The driver lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a blind curve at Tungi Morh in Chowki Chora area.
Niraj Kumar, minister for transport and digital infrastructure, ordered the suspensions and an investigation after Chandraker Bharti, principal secretary in the home ministry, chaired a high-level meeting.
“Pending completion of investigation into their conduct and dereliction of duty, officials of the Regional Transport Office, Kathua (Lakhanpur) are suspended with immediate effect and transferred to the office of the Transport Commissioner, Jammu,” Kumar said in an order.
The suspended officials are Ranjeev Bhasin (Motor Vehicle Inspector), Sumit Magotra (Junior Assistant) and Multi Tasking Squad (MTS) members Ashwani Kumar, Aman Kumar, Keshav Singh and Rakesh Kumar.
An inquiry into the conduct and performance of the suspended officials will be led by Deputy Secretary (Technology) Paramvir Singh, who will submit a report with recommendations within a week, Kumar said.
The officials have been posted to the Transport Commissioner’s office in Jammu pending the completion of the investigation.
The Jammu District Magistrate has already initiated a judicial inquiry into the incident and the report is expected within seven days.
The district administration is closely monitoring the treatment of those injured in the accident and is in contact with the authorities in the passengers’ home regions, Hathras and Aligarh, as well as in Uttar Pradesh.
Sachin Kumar, deputy commissioner of Jammu, said treatment of the injured was ongoing at the Government Medical College (GMC) hospital.
The Jammu government on Thursday said it had set up a 24-hour helpline to provide information and assistance to the families of the victims.
Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 500,000 each to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured.
According to some of the injured passengers, the accident occurred when the driver was negotiating a blind curve and a speeding car was coming towards him. However, some passengers accused the driver of overloading his vehicle.
The accident is the deadliest in the region since a similar accident on November 15, 2023 in Doda district, in which a bus skidded off the road and plunged into a 300-foot-deep ravine, leaving 39 people dead and 19 injured.

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