Shocking details have emerged regarding the bus fire incident on the Yamuna Expressway in Greater Noida. An FIR registered based on a passenger’s complaint reveals that the driver and conductor ignored repeated warnings from passengers about a burning smell and refused to stop the bus.
Nine passengers died after the bus, which was traveling from Delhi to Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh, caught fire late Wednesday night. According to the TOI report, the FIR was registered at the Jewar police station based on a complaint filed by Sunil Kumar, a resident of Hamirpur district.
Passengers warned the driver about the burning smell
According to Kumar’s complaint, he boarded the Raj Kalpana Travels bus from Delhi’s Kashmere Gate around 9 PM on Wednesday. He stated that there were approximately 30–35 passengers on board.
When the bus reached the 33-km mark on the Yamuna Expressway around 11:30 PM, passengers noticed a burning smell coming from the driver’s cabin. Kumar alleged that passengers repeatedly asked the driver to stop the vehicle and check the source of the smell.
However, the driver reportedly dismissed the smell as a common occurrence on the bus and continued driving. According to PTI, the FIR quotes the driver and conductor as telling the passengers, “If you want to die, then die; we will not stop the bus.”
Kumar further alleged that the driver and conductor continued smoking bidis and cigarettes inside the cabin when, suddenly, a fire broke out near the driver’s seat.
Fire spreads through the bus; 9 passengers die
After the fire broke out, passengers raised an alarm and once again asked the driver to stop the bus. However, the driver and conductor reportedly did not stop the bus immediately. According to the complaint, by the time the bus came to a halt, the fire had spread throughout the vehicle, and the interior was filled with smoke.
Kumar stated that he and several other passengers managed to jump off the bus and save their lives, while some remained trapped inside. Many passengers suffered burns and were taken to Kailash Hospital in Jewar for treatment.
Kumar said he later learned at the hospital that nine passengers had died. Police stated that the victims died due to burns and suffocation. The complaint accuses the driver and conductor of “gross, deliberate negligence, haste, and recklessness” regarding passenger safety. It also alleges that passengers’ bags, belongings, and mobile phones—including items stored in the luggage compartment and on the roof—were destroyed in the fire.
Police said the driver and conductor have been taken into custody, and further investigation into the matter is underway.