Pune: Santosh Maruti Mane, who has been charged with murder for killing nine people and injuring 32 people while driving a state transport bus, has been sent to Yerwada Mental Hospital for observation.

A Pune court had sent Mane to police custody till February 3. He was produced for a medical check-up at the Sasoon Hospital in the city; but as his condition looked unstable he was sent to the mental hospital for observation till February 1.

The incident happened at 8:15 am on Wednesday when Mane climbed into an empty Pune-Satara-Pune bus at the Swargate ST Depot and zoomed off, driving at a breakneck speed on the wrong side of the road, taking the oncoming vehicles and people unawares.

According to police, Mane's high-speed drive lasted nearly 25 km during which he rammed stationary and moving vehicles en route and ran over pedestrians before being nabbed at the Dandekar Flyover near the Nilayam Talkies.

Tags: Pune bus driver, Pune bus rampage, Santosh Mane

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