The owner of the operator company and the driver of the bus, involved in the tragic incident in Mahabubnagar, were arrested on Thursday.
Owner of Jabbar Travels, Shakeel Jabbar and driver Feroze were arrested from Kothakota in Mahabubnagar district, Wanaparthy DSP Srinivas Reddy said. The owner and the driver were booked under various Sections of Indian Penal Code and Motor Vehicles Act, he said.
The owner failed to have a second driver in the bus, allowed excess passengers, failed to maintain a list of passengers and allowed unaccounted-for cargo, the DSP said. Initial probe revealed that driver Feroze jumped out when the bus burst into flames, leaving the passengers to their fate, Reddy said. While Fayaz, the helper, raised alarm after seeing flames and saved some of the passengers, getting burn injuries himself in the process.