Hyderabad Police Chief’s Fiery Outrage Over Deadly Kurnool Blaze

In the wake of a devastating highway inferno that claimed 20 lives, Hyderabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar has unleashed a blistering attack on drunk driving, branding those behind the wheel while intoxicated as outright “terrorists.”

The catastrophe unfolded in the predawn hours of Friday on National Highway 44 near Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh. A sleeper bus en route from Hyderabad to Bengaluru, operated by Vemuri Kaveri Travels, slammed into a motorbike that had toppled onto the road, igniting a ferocious blaze that reduced the vehicle to ashes. Among the victims were 19 passengers charred beyond recognition, while the bike’s rider perished at the scene, bringing the death toll to 20.

Preliminary probes point to alcohol as the spark for the tragedy. The motorbike’s driver, identified as 20-year-old Panchala Shiva Shankar from Lakshmipuram village, was reportedly inebriated. He and his companion, Erriswamy, had stopped at a nearby petrol station around 2 a.m. to refuel their Pulsar bike with 300 rupees worth of fuel. Surveillance footage from the station captured Shankar’s unsteady demeanor, confirming suspicions of intoxication, according to Kurnool Superintendent of Police.

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Moments after departing, Shankar veered out of control, crashing into a road divider and leaving the bike sprawled across the highway, its tank spilling fuel. The oncoming bus collided with the obstruction at approximately 2:39 a.m., triggering an explosion that trapped passengers inside the sleeper coaches. Investigators suspect the spilled petrol fueled the rapid spread of flames, exacerbated by items like 234 smartphones and 12 kV batteries carried aboard—details that have since fueled speculation about the fire’s intensity, as reported in earlier Hindustan Times coverage.

Grief-stricken families gathered at the site near Chinna Tekur village, their anguish captured in stark images from ANI, showing the gutted wreckage amid the morning haze.

The incident has ignited widespread fury, prompting Sajjanar to take to X with a no-holds-barred condemnation. “Drunk drivers are terrorists. Period,” he declared. “Drunk drivers are terrorists and their actions are nothing short of acts of terror on our roads. The horrific Kurnool bus accident, which claimed the lives of 20 innocent people, was not an accident in the truest sense. It was a preventable massacre, caused by the reckless and irresponsible behavior of an intoxicated biker.”

Sajjanar described the event as “a criminal act of negligence that annihilated entire families,” vowing that his force would brook no tolerance for such endangerment. “I stand firmly by my statement that DRUNK DRIVERS ARE TERRORISTS in every sense. They destroy lives, families, and futures. Such acts will never be tolerated.”

He underscored Hyderabad police’s ironclad commitment to road safety, promising swift and severe repercussions. “Every single person caught driving under the influence will face the full force of law. There will be no leniency, no exceptions, and no mercy for those who endanger innocent lives. It’s time we, as a society, stop calling drunk driving a mistake. It is a crime that shatters lives and must be punished accordingly.”

This stance echoes Sajjanar’s long-standing advocacy for stricter enforcement, amid a national toll from impaired driving that claims thousands annually. As authorities continue to sift through the wreckage for victim identification and deeper forensic insights, the Kurnool tragedy serves as a grim reminder of the human cost when vigilance falters on India’s bustling arteries.