Nine hours after accident on Samruddhi Expressway, bus was issued PUC certificate

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The private bus which caught fire on the Nagpur-Mumbai 'Samruddhi Expressway' leading to the death of 25 passengers was issued a Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate nine hours after the horrific incident, an RTO official said on Tuesday.

The authority has now sought a report from the local Regional Transport Office in this regard.

The sleeper coach bus with registration number MH29- BE1819 ran into the road divider around 1.30 am on July 1 in Maharashtra's Buldhana district, and caught fire.

As many as 25 passengers perished in the accident.

The PUC certificate was issued against the same registration number at 10.37 am on the same day when the gutted shell of the bus must have been lying near the accident spot.

The certificate can also be seen on the 'Vahan database' of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

Transport commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar told PTI that a First Information Report (FIR) would be registered against the centre which issued the PUC certificate if it was found to be at fault.

He has sought a report from the Yavatmal deputy Regional Transport Office, he said.

Sources in the RTO said the earlier PUC certificate of the bus had expired on March 10, 2023.

A Yavatmal-based PUC centre with the code number MH0290041 issued a new PUC certificate with validity till June 30, 2024 on the morning after the accident, indicating that the centre never bothered to inspect the vehicle.

Yavatmal's deputy RTO office has already issued a show-cause notice to the PUC center and the owner of the bus, said an official.

It is mandatory for every vehicle owner to have a valid PUC certificate showing that it complies with the emission norms. A vehicle without a PUC is liable to be prosecuted under the Motor Vehicles Act.

In August 2017, the Supreme Court in M C Mehta vs Union of India and Others had directed insurers not to insure a vehicle unless it has a valid PUC certificate.

An RTO officer said it was possible that the bus owner tried to obtain a new PUC certificate after the accident fearing that his insurance claim would be rejected, but in any case a PUC centre must never issue a certificate without physically inspecting a vehicle.

It is mandatory for a PUC centre to capture a live photograph of a vehicle's number plate when pollution levels are measured.

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