Driver, conductor ignored burning smell before Greater Noida bus fire that killed 9, FIR alleges

The driver and conductor of the bus that caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway here allegedly ignored repeated warnings from passengers about a burning smell and refused to stop the vehicle, according to an FIR registered on a passenger's complaint.

Nine passengers were killed after the bus, travelling from Delhi to Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh, caught fire late Wednesday night, September 23. The incident took place near the 33-km mark of the Yamuna Expressway around 11.30 pm.

The FIR was registered at Jewar police station on the complaint of Suneel Kumar, a resident of Hamirpur district, who said he had boarded the Raj Kalpana Travels bus from Kashmere Gate in Delhi around 9 pm. Around 30-35 passengers were travelling on the bus, he said.

According to the complaint, passengers noticed a burning smell coming from the driver's cabin when the bus reached the 33-km mark. Kumar alleged that passengers alerted the driver, but he dismissed the smell as something common in the bus and did not stop to inspect it.

The complaint further alleged that the driver and conductor continued smoking bidis and cigarettes in the cabin before flames suddenly erupted near the driver's seat.

When passengers raised an alarm and repeatedly asked the driver to stop, the two allegedly refused and told them, "If you want to die, then die; we won't stop the bus," the FIR said.

By the time the bus stopped, the fire had spread and the vehicle was filled with smoke. Kumar said he and several other passengers managed to jump out, while others remained trapped inside.

Several passengers suffered burn injuries and were taken to Kailash Hospital in Jewar. Police said nine people died from burns and suffocation.

The complaint accused the driver and conductor of gross negligence and reckless disregard for passenger safety. It also said passengers' bags, luggage and mobile phones kept inside the bus, including in the luggage compartment and on the roof, were destroyed in the fire.

The driver and conductor have been detained by police, and further investigation is underway. Police are also probing the circumstances that led to the fire and the alleged delay in stopping the bus.