Nine die as bus catches fire on Yamuna Expressway
Nine passengers died on a sleeper bus travelling between Delhi and Mahoba early on Thursday after it caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway late.
Police arrested the bus driver and conductor in connection with the incident. The duo allegedly refused to stop the bus despite being alerted about a burning smell and told passengers, “Die if you want to, but we won’t stop the bus,” according to the FIR.
At the time of publishing, the police had yet to identify many among the dead except Devendra Bhardwaj, who was travelling with his wife Rekha Bhardwaj from the Hisar area to Mahoba, according to the Jewar police. His age has not been made public. Rekha survived with injuries, including broken ribs, and is receiving treatment at Arogya Hospital in Jewar. Authorities said that several bodies had been burned beyond recognition and that identification is being carried out using statements from the families, the passengers’ belongings and, when necessary, additional forensic analysis. Police have detained drivers Pawan Kumar and Yogesh Dixit and the conductor Rohit, all from Kanpur.
A case has been filed under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to rash conduct endangering life and causing death through negligence.
A partial list of passengers issued by the administration names, among others, Veerendra Kumar Singh, Vishwamitra Yadav, Omji Gupta, Ankit Rajput, Pravesh Kumar, Manav Dwivedi, Rony Vishwas, Prabhudayal Gupta, Utkarsh Gupta, Sispal Singh, Sunil Kumar, Rinki Rajput, Ravindra Rajput, Vikas Kumar, Mukesh Goswami, Harisharan Gupta and Usha Gupta.
The bus, registered in Bihar as BR-32-PA-8647 and operated by Raj Kalpana Travels, set off from Kashmere Gate around 9 pm on Wednesday with about 30 to 35 passengers on board. The fire broke out at around 11.30 pm near the 33km point in Jewar. Over 20 people managed to escape, some by jumping from the vehicle. Nine people were found dead inside the bus.
Suneel Kumar of Hamirpur, whose complaint led to the FIR being filed at the Jewar police station, said the passengers initially objected to both the driver and the conductor smoking inside the cabin. They allegedly laughed and told the passengers to keep quiet. A strong smell of burning then came from the cabin, and the driver treated it as something normal and did not stop.
Upon the outbreak of flames close to the driver’s seat and as people were screaming, the crew is alleged to have said, “If you want to die, then die; we won’t stop the bus.” Rinki Rajput, who was en route to Rath, said that she was asleep when someone knocked on her berth and that she ran out without her shoes, taking only her phone. Rekha Bhardwaj said that she fell while running away and was trampled; when she got to the road, she could not locate her husband.
Investigators are looking into a possible spark or explosion in the air-conditioning system, blocked emergency exits, and flammable material in the luggage compartment. The bus also had several overdue traffic fines. DCP Traffic Central Range K Ramesh said that the bus had nine challans in Delhi, mainly for overspeeding and for improper parking.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have announced Rs 2 lakh for each family who has lost a loved one and Rs 50,000 for those who have been injured.
