The charred remains of the bus, which went up in flames on the national highway at Chinnatekur village in Kurnool district on Friday, killing 19 people.
| Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL
The Kurnool police, who are probing the bus fire tragedy that claimed 19 lives at Chinnatekur, have said that B. Shivashankar whose bike was hit and dragged under the bus, leading to the mishap, had died of head injuries after his vehicle skidded and hit a road divider on the national highway.
Before Erriswamy, Shivashankar’s friend, who was pillion riding, tried to remove the bike from the road, the private bus rammed into it. Seeing the bus going up in flames, Erriswamy fled, an official statement by Kurnool SP Vikrant Patil said.
The police verified the CCTV footage gathered from the national highway and tracked the movement of Shivashankar. The footage suggested that Shivashankar was travelling along with his friend.
According to the SP, the person travelling with Shivashankar has been identified as Erriswamy alias Nani, who was nabbed and questioned. “The duo started from Lakshmipuram village around 2 a.m. on Friday. Shivashankar was driving the vehicle and was on their way to Tuggali to drop Erriswamy,” the SP said.
Around 2.24 a.m., Shivashankar and Erriswamy reached the HP Petrol Bunk near Kia showroom, where they filled fuel in the vehicle worth ₹300. CCTV footage gathered from the petrol pump showed them entering the petrol filling station, waiting for the staff, and walking out of the premises for a few minutes, before riding away.
Just a few minutes after leaving the petrol filling station, Shivashankar lost control on the vehicle, which skidded and crashed into the road divider on the right side.
“Shivashankar died instantly as he fell off the bike, while Erriswamy suffered minor injuries. Erriswamy dragged Shivashankar from the middle of the road to one side and checked if he was still breathing. But before he could remove the bike from the middle of the road, the private sleeper bus rammed into it and dragged it for some distance,” the release said.
Noticing the bus going up in flames, Erriswamy panicked and fled from the scene. The police have registered cases. Further investigation is on.
Published – October 25, 2025 06:51 pm IST
