According to a complaint filed by passenger Sunil Kumar, a resident of Mohal Khushipura, Rath police station area, Hamirpur district, he boarded Raj Kalpana Travels bus number BR32PA8647 at Delhi’s Kashmiri Gate on Wednesday night to travel to Rath. Around 30–35 passengers were on board.
According to the complaint, at around 11:30 pm, the bus reached near kilometre 33 of the Yamuna Expressway on the route from Noida to Agra. During the journey, passengers noticed a burning smell coming from the direction of the driver’s cabin and informed the driver and conductor.
Sunil alleged that the driver did not take the warning seriously and said that such a burning smell regularly came from the bus. Despite the warning, the bus was not stopped for inspection. The complaint also alleges that the driver and conductor were smoking bidis or cigarettes inside the cabin.
The complaint further alleges that the driver and conductor were laughing among themselves and threatening passengers, telling them, “If you want to die, then die, we will not stop the bus.”
Shortly afterwards, according to Sunil, intense flames suddenly emerged from near the driver’s seat. Passengers raised an alarm and asked the driver to stop the bus.
The fire then spread rapidly through the bus, filling the interior with smoke. After the bus stopped, Sunil and other passengers attempted to escape. Sunil and several other passengers managed to get out of the bus, while some passengers remained trapped inside because of the fire and smoke.
Several passengers suffered serious burn injuries and were taken to Kailash Hospital in Jewar for treatment. According to Sunil, after reaching the hospital, he was informed that doctors had declared nine passengers dead.
Sunil filed a complaint regarding the incident at Jewar police station. Police have registered a case against the driver and conductor. The complaint accuses both of negligence in operating the bus and of failing to stop it despite passengers informing them about the burning smell.
The case places the passengers’ allegations and the circumstances preceding the fire at the centre of the police proceedings, following the deaths of nine passengers in the bus blaze.
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