Mumbai: A speeding tempo traveller crashed into a BEST bus and two other vehicles in Dadar late Sunday night, killing one and injuring six, including three brothers. The victim was identified as Shahabuddin Zainulabdeen Shaikh, 37, a clothes vendor, said the Shivaji Park police, adding that medical examination confirmed that the driver, Sandesh Kumbhar, 27, was driving under the influence of alcohol.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Kumbhar, a resident of Wadala, was driving in a rash and negligent manner. According to BEST, the fatal mishap occurred around 11.30 pm near the Dadar Plaza bus stop, when a tempo traveller, heading towards Shivaji Park, lost control. It collided with the front right side of a BEST bus that was en route to Pratiksha Nagar from the Worli depot.

After crashing into the bus, the tempo traveller also struck a taxi and another tourist vehicle, damaging both. “The impact caused the bus to veer left, hitting pedestrians and passengers waiting at the stop. Shahabuddin, a pedestrian, died on the spot,” said an official.

Those injured were identified as brothers Rahul Padale, 30, Rohit Padale, 33, and Akshay Padale, 25. The remaining three are Vidya Mote, 30, Abhishek Rautkar, 24, and Abdul Nadir, 23. While Nadir is from Wadala, the rest are from Sion. They were immediately rushed to Sion Hospital with the help of the bus conductor and local police personnel. The police have registered a case of accidental death against Kumbhar.

Mumbai: A 21-year-old college student, Mayur Kishor Rai, pursuing his undergraduate studies at Ruia College in Matunga, tragically died in a hit-and-run accident on the evening of October 4. The incident occurred near the Sion Bridge incline on Dr. B.A. Road, Sion East. The Sion Police have registered a case and are investigating the matter.

According to the FIR, Mayur, a resident of Lallubhai Compound in Mankhurd, lived with his family and used to commute to college on a KTM Duke 250 motorcycle (MH-03-EJ-5365) registered in his sister Deepa’s name. On the day of the incident, Mayur left for college on the bike and informed his mother, Sunita Rai,45, a social worker, around 6:30 PM that he was on his way home.

However, at around 8:15 PM, Sunita received a call from an unknown person using Mayur’s mobile, informing her that his bike had met with an accident near Sion Bridge.

The family rushed to the location by taxi but could not find Mayur at the spot. While on their way to Sion Hospital, they spotted his motorcycle near the zebra crossing on Dr. B.A. Road, where police were already present. Upon getting down from the taxi, the family found Mayur lying unconscious beside a small tempo.

An ambulance called by the police arrived shortly, and Mayur was rushed to Sion Hospital. Unfortunately, the doctors declared him dead on arrival.

According to traffic police patrolling the area, some bystanders had informed them about the accident and mentioned that an injured person was being taken to the hospital in a tempo. The tempo in question bore the registration number MH-48-CB-3469.

Investigations revealed that after the accident, local bystanders had placed the injured Mayur in the tempo for transportation. However, when no one accompanied him to the hospital, the frightened tempo driver allegedly offloaded Mayur near the zebra crossing and left him there unattended.

Police have filed a case against the unknown vehicle driver for causing death by negligent and rash driving, under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Motor Vehicles Act. Efforts are ongoing to identify the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run.

New Delhi, Oct 7: A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Supreme Court seeking urgent judicial intervention to address the deaths of children allegedly caused by the consumption of contaminated cough syrup in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

At least 14 children have died since early September, with most of the cases reported from Nagpur in Maharashtra and Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh.

The PIL, filed by advocate Vishal Tiwari, claimed that laboratory tests conducted by the Madhya Pradesh government confirmed the presence of Diethylene Glycol (DEG) — a toxic industrial solvent prohibited for pharmaceutical use — in ‘Coldrif Cough Syrup’ manufactured by Tamil Nadu’s Sresan Pharma Pvt. Ltd.

The initial cases were reported from Madhya Pradesh’s Chhindwara district in early September, and within days, the death toll mounted as similar cases emerged from Nagpur, Maharashtra.

“Despite the catastrophic findings, the Union Government and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) allegedly failed to issue an immediate nationwide recall or ban, permitting the continued circulation of potentially poisonous medicines across States,” the plea stated.

It drew parallels with the Gambia and Uzbekistan incidents, where DEG-contaminated Indian syrups were linked to over 90 child deaths abroad.

“This is not a tragedy of chance but of negligence, apathy, and regulatory failure — an institutional rot that allows counterfeit and adulterated drugs to enter the public market unchecked,” the PIL stated.

The plea has sought the constitution of a National Judicial Commission or Expert Committee, headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the manufacture, regulation, testing and distribution of contaminated syrups and to recommend systemic drug-safety reforms.

Further, it seeks a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the deaths of children across states, under the supervision of a former apex court judge.

The PIL also urged the top court to transfer all pending FIRs related to the deaths to the CBI to ensure a uniform and independent investigation.

Another prayer is for immediate recall, seizure and prohibition of all batches of Coldrif Cough Syrup and other related formulations manufactured by Sresan Pharma Pvt. Ltd., until independent NABL-accredited laboratories issue toxicological clearance and verification of safety.

On Monday, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued notices to the Principal Secretaries of the Health Departments of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan on a complaint alleging serious lapses in drug safety and regulatory mechanisms that led to the tragedy.

The apex human rights body has directed the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to initiate a comprehensive investigation into the supply chain of the alleged spurious drugs, apart from instructing all regional labs in the concerned states to collect and test samples.

“The authority is also directed to order all the Chief Drugs Controllers in the concerned states to process immediately the banning of the spurious drugs and submit reports,” the NHRC said.