Book on 2012 violent bus rampage that killed nine

Pune based author wrote a book ‘The Sane Psychopath’ inspired by 2012 bus violence killing nine

Pune: NP NEWS 24 ONLINE – During peak hours of 25^th January in 2012, a bus driver went on a horrific rampage on the road for 45 minutes, killing nine people and injuring at least 30 others. The 39-year-old driver, Santosh Mane, was arrested after police — who had earlier fired 10 rounds in the air in an attempt to force him to stop — and the public got on the bus when it slowed down after hitting two cars. Mane’s wife said he was stressed and overworked from being forced to drive long routes.

The incident inspired city-based author Salil Desai, who is known for his crime writing, to write ‘The Sane Psychopath’, which was released a few weeks ago. The lead character in ‘The Sane Psychopath’ also goes crazy on the roads of Pune, killing and injuring people who come in his path.

The book, which the slots in the ‘socio-psychological’ genre, explores what drives people like his character, Shubash Lande, and in general people who go on a killing spree.

He quoted,” “We have become a confused kind of society, with one leg on the shore and one in the sea. The incident of the bone-chilling rampage on the streets of Pune in this book is inspired from a similar incident that took place in Pune on January 25, 2012. While the book is a fictionalised version of this incident, the killing of innocents by a bus driver is the core of this novel.”

Through ‘The Sane Psychopath’, Salil has explored mental illness and much its widespread and ignored by people around the victim.

Sahil came into limelight with ‘Inspector Saralkar ’series. The series was selected for the MAMI film festival vote-to-screen contest from among 300 books.