Overview
- A wet‑lease electric BEST bus on Route A‑463 rammed into five vehicles and a construction crane near Plaza Cinema in Dadar on June 8, killing a delivery rider and injuring several others.
- Mumbai Central RTO’s initial inspection reported no obvious brake malfunction or steering fault, and vehicle telematics showed a sudden speed jump before impact.
- An internal RTO note and post‑crash damage to wiring, the ECU and ABS mean a full technical verdict is not yet possible without BEST engineers restarting the bus for further tests.
- Driver Vikas Padave has been booked for causing death by negligence and other traffic offences, has been discharged from hospital, and has been served a police notice to appear and cooperate.
- BEST has started plainclothes inspections of wet‑lease buses and convened an internal inquiry as critics press for tighter oversight of private operators after earlier EV bus accidents in 2024 and 2025.