On the morning of January 25, when Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) driver Santosh Mane, hijacked a bus and drove from Swargate to Camp, mowing down eight people and injuring several others, the city was thrown into a state of shock, panic and grief. Today, almost two weeks after the tragic incident, eye witnesses still try to free their mind of the images.

Mane took off from the bus depot at Swargate, driving in full speed on the wrong side of the road towards Seven Loves Chowk. Mention the incident at the carts selling samosas and fresh juices near the depot and expressions become serious, smiles disappear. "When we see buses, we hope the incident is never repeated again and no bus hurtles our way," says Shiv Bahadur Singh, who owns one of the carts. For them, it was a close shave. "We saw the bus hit a girl on a bike, and then two guys on a bike. It all happened so fast," he recounts. The images feel too real, he adds.

Dattatray Pingle, an engineer working with a city-based company, was in his company bus when Mane was on a rampage that morning on Shankarsheth road. "We saw a jeep that had been damaged near the PMPML office and three other vehicles in quick succession. We even joked whether it was accident day. Some thought it was a drunk driver, but later when we saw a scooter with its front wheel missing, a badly damaged car and another scooter that had been dragged and thrown against a wall compound, we realised that something was very wrong," Pingle says. It was only later that they learnt of what exactly had happened. A regular traveller to Nasik, he says, "Whenever I have interacted with the bus drivers or conductors, I have found them to be too tired or frustrated owing to the long distance drives that they have to constantly make. But such an incident is neither expected nor justified."

At Seven Loves Chowk, Santosh Patole sits in his little flower shop and points to the other side of the road. "He drove like a maniac on that side. We saw the cops shouting aloud and telling everyone to move out of the way," he narrates. Some were lucky to escape, while some weren't. A lady at a tailoring shop at Poolgate talks of how she saw a bike caught in the wheels of the bus and being dragged along. "I thought it's a terror attack as he wasn't even wearing a uniform and it was just a day before Republic Day. The incident is over but there's anger and shock left behind," she says. Mansoor Ali, who owns the Weldon Hair Cutting Salon at Poolgate, recalls how the bus passed by thrice. "We all saw the bike under its wheels. It's a very disturbing image. This chowk is one of the busiest ones but has rarely seen any accidents. So, this was all the more shocking," he says.