A single bench of judge Dhan Singh Mahara handed down the verdict to bus driver Birendra Sahu in line with the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act 2049, informed Nawaraj Joshi, registrar at District Court, Doti. Birendra had driven the bus, which met with an accident killing 29 people in Doti, some six months ago.
According to Joshi, Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act allows a judge to use his own discretion to fix the punishment depending on the nature of the accident. As per the act, a driver accused of causing a road accident may be sentenced up to 10 years in jail.
However, Dambar Sahu, the owner of the bus, has been freed on Rs 50,000 bail, according to the Doti District Court.
Some six months ago, an ill-fated bus with registration number Na 3 Kha 5707 heading for Dhangadhi from Doti had fell 300 meters down the road in Jorayal of Doti. In the accident, 29 passengers were killed and 60 others injured. Some of them, who were critically injured, are still receiving treatment at Lucknow Hospital of India.
The court had charged the bus driver with overloading the bus and reckless driving. Following the accident, victims' family and relatives had been demanding punishment for the driver.
Over a hundred passengers get killed in road accidents in far western region every year, according to the police.
Within eight months of the current fiscal year, road accidents have already claimed 130 lives, as per the record maintained at the Regional Traffic Police Office of Atariya in far western region.
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