Six identified among nine dead in Yamuna Expressway Inferno, identities of three awaited
Noida, September 24: At least nine people died after a double-decker bus caught fire on the Yamuna Expressway in Jewar police station area of Greater Noida. Till Thursday evening, the police could identify six dead, while the identity of three is yet to be established. The identified dead include three women and three men, police told.
The police said the deceased were identified as Kumari Shruti Rawat (31), daughter of Balmukund, resident of Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh; Usha Devi (65), wife of Prem Narayan Gupta, resident of Muskara, Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh; Har Sharan Gupta (55), son of Awadh Bihari Gupta, resident of Jalaun, Uttar Pradesh; Devendra Bhardwaj (60), son of Prempal, resident of Hisar, Haryana; Saroj Gupta (52), wife of Anant Ram Gupta, resident of Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh; and Mayank Gupta (28), son of Suresh Gupta, resident of Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh.
According to police, some bodies were badly burned in the fire, making their identification difficult. Police are trying to identify the other deceased.
In the case of the nine deaths caused by the fire in a double-decker bus on the Yamuna Expressway, Sunil Kumar, a resident of Rath, Hamirpur, who was a passenger on the bus, has filed a case against the bus driver and conductor at the Jewar police station under sections of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Ravi Shankar Nim stated that the police have registered a case under sections 281, 125B, 105, and 351(3) of the Indian Penal Code. The driver and conductor have been arrested.
According to the police, the bus, carrying 35 passengers, departed from Kashmiri Gate, Delhi, on Wednesday midnight for Mahoba district via the Yamuna Expressway. The bus suddenly caught fire when it reached 33 kilometers on the Yamuna Expressway. Teams from the fire department, police, and district administration arrived at the scene. Approximately 26 people were rescued, while nine others died from burns. Some people fainted due to smoke inhalation and were hospitalized. Their condition is now stable. The
Deputy Commissioner of Police stated that during the investigation, police discovered that the bus belonged to Raj Kalpana Travels, a company operating in Madhya Pradesh. The bus was traveling from Kashmiri Gate, Delhi, to Mahoba. The bus was registered in Bihar. He said the bus’s fitness certificate was issued from Rajasthan, while the pollution certificate was issued from Haryana. He said the bus had no stopover in Noida. He said the fire was caused by a spark in the bus’s air conditioner.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the accident and announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 1 lakh each to the injured.
