- Passengers reported burning smell, driver dismissed vehicle issue.
- Driver, conductor refused stopping bus despite repeated warnings.
- Bus caught fire, resulting in nine passenger deaths.
The driver and conductor of the bus that caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida allegedly ignored a burning smell and refused to stop the vehicle despite repeated warnings from passengers, according to an FIR registered on the complaint of a passenger.
Passengers raised an alarm and asked the driver to stop the bus, but the driver and conductor allegedly refused, telling them, “If you want to die, then die; we won’t stop the bus,” the FIR said.
Nine passengers were killed after the bus, travelling from Delhi to Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh, caught fire late Wednesday night on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida, PTI news agency reported.
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Passengers Report Burning Smell
The FIR was registered at Jewar police station on the complaint of Suneel Kumar, a resident of Hamirpur district, who said he boarded the Raj Kalpana Travels bus from Delhi’s Kashmere Gate around 9 pm on Wednesday.
According to his complaint, around 30-35 passengers were travelling on the bus. At around 11.30 pm, when the vehicle reached the 33-km mark on the Yamuna Expressway, passengers noticed a burning smell coming from the driver’s cabin.
Despite being alerted, the driver allegedly dismissed the smell as something common in the bus and did not stop to inspect the vehicle, Kumar claimed.
Driver, Conductor Allegedly Continued Smoking
Kumar further alleged that the driver and conductor continued smoking bidis and cigarettes inside the cabin. Shortly afterwards, flames suddenly erupted near the driver’s seat, according to the complaint.
Passengers raised an alarm and again asked the driver to stop the bus. However, the driver and conductor allegedly told them, “If you want to die, then die; we won’t stop the bus.”
By the time the bus was stopped, the fire had spread and the vehicle was filled with smoke, the FIR said.
Nine Passengers Killed
Kumar said he and several other passengers managed to jump out of the burning vehicle, while some remained trapped inside.
Several passengers suffered burn injuries and were taken to Kailash Hospital in Jewar for treatment. Kumar said he was informed at the hospital that nine people had been declared dead.
According to the police, all nine passengers died due to burns and suffocation.
Driver, Conductor Detained
The complaint alleged that the driver and conductor’s “deliberate, gross negligence, rashness and reckless disregard” for passenger safety resulted in the deaths.
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It also stated that passengers’ bags, luggage and mobile phones were destroyed in the fire, including belongings kept in the luggage compartment and on the roof of the bus.
Police said the driver and conductor have been detained and that further investigation is underway.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
