Athamalik bus mishap: Vehicle owner arrested

Angul: Police on Friday arrested Rishabh Kumar Tripathi, owner of the bus that fell 40 feet off a bridge near Athamalik in Angul district killing 19 persons and leaving more than 30 passengers seriously injured on September 9.

He was later sent to jail as his bail plea was rejected by court. Earlier on September 11, police had arrested the driver of the bus and forwarded to court on the basis of the report mentioning that the accident occurred due to the careless driving. However, during interrogation, the driver said the incident occurred due to failure of the steering wheel.

On the other hand,the Private Bus Owners' Association has strongly opposed the arrest of Tripathy and called for a meeting on Sunday to discuss on the matter.