Mumbai bus crash: Deceased Swiggy rider was saving money for father’s eye treatment

MUMBAI: A few years ago, Niyaz Ali left his village in Uttar Pradesh for Mumbai to support his parents and younger sister.

After working several gigs, including loading vegetables in tempos, the 28-year-old finally landed a job as a Swiggy delivery partner. Niyaz, who lived with a cousin in Null Bazaar, was trying to save enough for his father’s eye treatment, but on Monday morning, tragedy struck.

Niyaz was on his job on a two-wheeler, when a speeding BEST electric bus crashed into multiple vehicles in Dadar, killing him and injuring six others.

His uncle, Roz Ali, said Swiggy is arranging the transportation of Niyaz’s remains to his hometown Badhaipurva in Shravasti district. “But we are still uncertain about compensation,” Roz said.

A Swiggy representative told TOI that the standard insurance amount of Rs 10 lakh will be processed once hospital formalities are over.

For the most part of the day, Roz, who was accompanied by workers from his village, was at a loss for words on how he would inform Niyaz’s parents about the incident; he finally informed them late in the evening.

“We are trying to understand how the company plans to compensate us. Some people are in touch. But there is very little clarity from BEST to us,” Roz said.

Seven victims were rushed to Sion Hospital. Among them was 28-year-old Niyaz Ali, who was brought dead to hospital. He served as delivery boy for an app-based food delivery platform. Rishabh Gupta, 22, who is also delivery boy for the same platform, is fighting for his life with severe head injuries.

Amit Mhatre, a 40-yearold pedestrian who was struck by the bus, has suffered blunt trauma to his back, left shoulder, and thigh, doctors said.

The other four injured were BEST staffers, two of them bus inspectors. While Padave suffered minor trauma to his left knee, bus inspector Mahesh Doiphode (50) sustained blunt trauma to his left leg, left wrist, and back. Another bus inspector Satish Waghmare (48) suffered trauma to his left chest. The bus conductor, Rajendra Pelekar, was in stable condition, doctors said.

All the injured were referred to the orthopaedic ward. However, hospital officials said all the other BEST workers except the driver later left the hospital and “absconded” after their X-rays were done, likely seeking treatment elsewhere. Mhatre too could not be traced till the time of going to press.

The CCTV grab of the accident went viral, reminding Mumbaikars of the BEST bus crashes of Kurla in 2024 and Bhandup in 2025 (see graphic).

Madavi said Padave has prior experience of handling wet lease buses. Records indicate Padave had earlier worked with another wet lease bus operator from Jan 2020 and later joined Evey Trans (the wet lease operator in this case) in March 2021 and is considered “well-experienced in driving such vehicles”.

A police officer told TOI , “The bus driver, who has been served an arrest notice, told me there was a technical error. He said when he started the bus and released the hand brake, the bus automatically got accelerated. He said acceleration also got locked, hence he was unable to control the vehicle, but he tried his best by ramming into vehicles instead of hitting pedestrians. In the melee, bikers who came in the way were hit.”