Two days after 20 people were killed in a horrific bus fire in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool, Hyderabad Police Commissioner VS Sajjanar minced no words as he said that drunk drivers are “terrorists”, and they won’t get any mercy for endangering innocent lives.

Sajjanar’s stern message came after the Hyderabad-Bengaluru private sleeper bus hit a bike, killing the driver and 19 passengers on the bus. The officer also said the bike rider, who died in the tragedy, was drunk and caused the accident.

He also said such actions were nothing short of “acts of terror” on the roads and called the incident a “criminal act of negligence”.

“Drunk drivers are terrorists. Period. 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 behaviour of an intoxicated biker. This was not a road mishap but a criminal act of negligence that annihilated entire families within seconds,” he wrote in a long post on X.

“The biker, identified as B Shiva Shankar, was under the influence of alcohol. CCTV footage shows him refuelling his motorcycle at 2:24 am, minutes before he lost control and caused the devastating collision at 2:39 am. His decision to drive drunk turned a moment of arrogance into a tragedy of unimaginable scale,” he added.

Standing firm on his remark that drunk drivers are terrorists, Sajjanar said such people destroy lives, families and futures.

He stressed that Hyderabad police have a zero tolerance approach to drunken driving in the city.

“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 that we, as a society, stop calling drunken driving a mistake. It is a crime that shatters lives and must be punished accordingly,” the top cop further said.

– Ends