Kannur: The school bus that overturned in Kannur, resulting in the death of a class 5 student, was brought for preventive inspection on December 19, and the test did not reveal any mechanical glitches. The Motor vehicle department officials assessed the records following the accident and confirmed that the vehicle did not have any issues then. This has further strengthened the suspicion that the driver's attention was distracted while coming down a slope without any embankment.

Transport Commissioner Nagarajau Chakilam said that the timing of the WhatsApp status update of the driver and the accident is being checked, and the department is also looking for CCTV visuals from the area to track vehicle movement before the accident happened.

"There is no evidence of mechanical failure. This indicates the vehicle was speeding dangerously along the slope. One cannot drive a vehicle at such a speed along a slope. We are looking at whether the driver was using a mobile phone after information was received on the same timing of his WhatsApp status update and accident," said Nagaraju.

The department has also concluded that the school bus driver was not a regular employee, and he came in as a replacement. Kannur RTO is awaiting results of blood samples of the driver from the police and will submit a final report on Thursday. The MVD is also working with the police to find out if he was under the influence of any other drug.

Nizamudeen, the school bus driver, had also not participated in the category-wise training programme organised by the MVD. His name has not surfaced in the list of school bus drivers in the district who had attended the MVD's training. According to the preliminary report, Nedhya S Rajesh who died in the accident was seated behind the driver's seat and she was flung out of the window under the impact of the accident.