Murshidabad bus tragedy: Six more bodies fished out, death toll touches 42

It was around 9:30 am when six decomposed bodies were fished out from underneath the waterbody where they remained stuck. One of them was identified as Mintu Sheikh, the bus conductor. He was the brother of Sentu Sheikh, the bus driver, who the survivors have accused of talking on a mobile phone while driving, leading to the disaster. Sentu's body was recovered on Monday evening, when the death toll stood at 36.

In the wake of the accident and allegations of the driver talking on mobile phone resulting in the tragic mishap, the North Bengal State Transport Corporation and the South Bengal State Transport Corporation announced that bus drivers will henceforth not be permitted to use mobile phones while on duty.

"There will be CCTV surveillance and if a driver is found talking on his mobile phone while driving, he will be suspended with immediate effect," a senior official of NBSTC said. It may be mentioned that the decision of banning cell phones while driving will be ratified during a NBSTC board meeting on February 3.

The SBSTC is also taking a similar stand and they have stipulated that offending drivers will be suspended for four months. Drunken driving will also be under the scanner of both the state bus service providers. SBSTC has decided to procure breath analysers for random checking of drivers on duty.

It may be mentioned that the bus was pulled out of the canal with the help of four giant cranes at around 8 pm on Monday. The 42 bodies were identified before post-mortem under the supervision of Dr Biplab Shee, head of the department of forensic science at Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital. Many of the bodies were later handed over to the families of the victims, most of whom were from Nadia and Murshidabad.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who had stayed back at Berhampore on Monday night, said in the morning before leaving for Kolkata, "The family members of the victims were provided with all kinds of cooperation. District Magistrate (Murshidabad) have already handed over compensation of Rs 5 lakh to them on behalf of the government. If there are some more persons missing, search will be carried out. We have instructed for inspecting the bridge properly. Apart from this, speed restrictions will also be imposed."

Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi and Speaker Biman Banerjee mourned the loss of lives in the House of the Assembly during the commencement of the Budget session. In his address, Tripathi said, "My government has noted with great sorrow the tragic road accident that claimed many lives in Daulatabad within Murshidabad district on Monday. We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those dead or missing."

The NDRF officials are not ruling out the fact that a few more bodies might still be stuck in the waterbody, as the eleven survivors had said that around 60 passengers were on board the fateful bus of NBSTC.