A day after a Maruti Omni van ferrying 12 children of Millat High School caught fire in Jogeshwari, officials of the Oshiwara police station said on Tuesday that the accident didn’t occur due to any LPG leak but due to the gross negligence on the part of the driver, Rafiq Qureshi, who has been remanded in police custody till February 1.Senior Inspector Kiran Sonone said, “Qureshi had attached a water bottle full of petrol to the carburettor through pipes to operate the vehicle as the LPG cylinder was empty. On Monday morning, Qureshi went to a garage in Jogeshwari after encountering short-circuit problems and the mechanic has told us that he had warned Qureshi against using a petrol-filled water bottle to operate the vehicle. This clearly indicates that Qureshi was aware of the possibilities of a mishap but did not take it seriously. This amounts to gross negligence on the part of the driver.”According to Sonone, the mishap occurred when Qureshi tried to start the vehicle and petrol in the bottle caught fire due to short circuit.Additional Commissioner of Police (West Region) Archana Tyagi said, “The fact that Qureshi knew that the short-circuit problem in his vehicle could have caused an accident but still decided to go ahead with it points to a high degree of negligence on his part. The charge against him has been changed from Section 304 (A)-causing death by negligence-to Section 304-culpable homicide. We are also investigating whether the owner, Zuber Qureshi, was also aware of this defect. He will be charged under provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.”Ashrafbhai Makhnujia, the owner of Super Garage in Jogeshwari, where Qureshi had gone on Monday morning, said, “Qureshi had come to me at 9.30 am as he was having some short-circuit problems. While checking the car, I saw that he had attached a pipe from a water bottle filled with petrol to the carburettor. I realised that this was dangerous and could cause an accident. As I knew that he used the vehicle to ferry school children to and from school, I warned him about the petrol and advised him against it. However, he did not pay any heed to my advice.”At the police station, a crowd of LPG suppliers and dealers had gathered. C Chandrasekhar, president of Autogas Retrofitters Association, said, “The rumours about the incident being caused by an LPG explosion has severely affected our business. Our potential customers have become reluctant to install LPG kits. We want to emphasise the fact that there is absolutely no threat of an explosion with a LPG cylinder because of the safety features. This incident was caused just because the driver was negligent.”
