Greater Noida: An FIR filed at Jewar police station says the driver and conductor of a Delhi–Mahoba sleeper bus ignored repeated passengers’ warnings about a burning smell and refused to stop before the vehicle caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway, killing nine people late on Wednesday night.
The complaint, filed by Hamirpur resident Suneel Kumar, who was on board the Raj Kalpana Travels bus, states roughly 30–35 people were travelling when the bus departed Kashmere Gate at about 9 pm.
Around 11.30 pm, as the bus neared the 33-km milestone on the expressway, passengers detected a scorching smell emanating from the driver’s cabin and urged the crew to halt for a check.
‘Won’t Stop… Die If You Want To’
Kumar alleged the driver treated the odour as routine, refused to stop for inspection, and that both driver and conductor kept smoking bidis and cigarettes inside the cabin before flames suddenly broke out near the driver’s seat, as reported by The New Indian Express.
When passengers raised the alarm and demanded the bus be stopped, the two reportedly told them, “If you want to die, then die; we won’t stop the bus,” the FIR said.
By the time the vehicle was brought to a halt, the fire had intensified and smoke had engulfed the interior. Kumar and several others leapt out to save themselves, while some remained trapped inside. He was later told at Kailash Hospital in Jewar that nine people had died, the FIR noted.
Police confirmed nine fatalities from burns and suffocation. More than 20 passengers were rescued. The driver and conductor have been detained as investigations continue.
The complaint accuses them of “deliberate, gross negligence, rashness and reckless disregard” for passenger safety, adding that luggage and belongings stored inside and on the roof were destroyed.
