HighLights
  1. Nine died in Yamuna Expressway bus fire tragedy.
  2. BJP Treasurer Neeraj Gupta's wife, son among victims.
  3. Driver ignored warnings, bus had multiple traffic fines.

At least nine people had died after a bus caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway. Passengers said that the driver warned of burning smell befor the flames broke out. Among the deceased, two were identified as Sunita and Shashank, wife and son of BJP Treasurer Neeraj Gupta.

It is alleged that Sunita had difficulty walking and was seated on the last seat of the bus when the fire broke out. When the driver told passengers to get off the vehicle, Shashank attempted to help his mother out of the vehicle. However, her mobility issues made it difficult to move her in time. Even as the driver warned him repeatedly, Shanshank did not leave his mother alone. Both mother and son collapsed from the smoke and suffered severe burns.

Woman suffered from knee pain

Gupta said that hat his wife, Sunita had been residing with their son Shashank in Gurugram for around a month. Shashank was an engineer with IndiGo Airlines in Gurugram. Sunita had been staying with her son to receive treatment for knee pain.

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Three days ago, Shashank's uncle Dhirendra Gupta suffered a heart attack. Sunita and Shashank were travelling from Gurugram to Mahoba to visit him. According to Neeraj, the two had set off on a bus operated by Raj Kalpana Travels because they could not get train reservations. They were sitting in the back seat of the bus.

Was it the driver’s fault?

The FIR said that the driver and conductor had earlier warned the driver and conductor over smoking inside the bus. The two did not bother about the objections and laughed out the matter.

burning smell soon started to fill the moving bus, which passengers pointed out to the driver. The driver and conductor dismissed their concerns, saying the smell was something they usually noticed inside the bus. Despite repeated requests from passengers, the driver did not check the vehicle and continued smoking.

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A few minutes later, flames started blowing from the front side of the bus. As passengers began screaming, the FIR states that the driver told them, "I don't care if you die, I won't stop the bus."

The bus, registered in Bihar, was travelling from Delhi to Mahoba and was carrying over 35 people. It was quickly engulfed in flames, and the thick smoke restricted the passengers to escape. Visuals from the scene captured the bus completely charred as fire brigade teams worked to put out the blaze and rescue passengers.

An initial probe into the case revealed that the fire began with a blast in the bus's air conditioning system, which ignited the engine's lubricating oil and caused the flames to spread quickly.

Both the driver and the conductor survived the fire. Police have detained them for questioning.An investigation into the bus's records showed it had more than 60 fines for various traffic rule violations, of which 20 remain unpaid. According to vehicle information records, a total of more than Rs 1.7 lakh in fines is still outstanding for the bus, registered as BR32PA8647.


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