A devastating fire aboard a private bus on the Yamuna Expressway claimed nine lives, including those of 28-year-old Shashank Gupta and his mother, Sunita Gupta.
Mother and son among nine killed in bus fire
NOIDA: The last words 28-year-old Shashank Gupta reportedly said to the bus driver were that he would leave the burning vehicle only after his mother had escaped. He never got the chance.
Late Wednesday night, a private AC sleeper bus (BR32PA8647), travelling from Delhi’s Kashmere Gate to Mahoba, caught fire near the 33-km milestone of the Yamuna Expressway in Jewar.
By the time the fire was brought under control, nine of the 35 people aboard had died. The remaining 26 passengers, along with both drivers and the conductor, managed to escape.
Shashank and his 47-year-old mother, Sunita Gupta, were among those who could not get out.
Their severely burned bodies were identified on Friday through physical items and characteristics that remained after the fire. Family members identified Sunita by her height, while Shashank was identified by a ring he was wearing.
The mother and son had boarded the Raj Kalpana Travels bus unexpectedly. Sunita had been staying with Shashank in Gurgaon for around a month while undergoing treatment for severe knee pain that had made it difficult for her to walk.
Three days before the fire, Sunita’s brother-in-law Neeraj’s brother suffered a heart attack in Charkhari, Mahoba. Sunita and Shashank decided to travel there together. With train tickets unavailable, they booked seats towards the rear of the sleeper bus.
According to Neeraj, several passengers noticed a burning smell inside the bus well before flames became visible. He alleged that their complaints were ignored and that the driver did not stop the vehicle, a delay he believes may have cost lives.
Some passengers had earlier told TOI that they alerted the driver and conductor after noticing the smell. They alleged that the two continued smoking inside the cabin instead of stopping the bus.
Shortly afterwards, flames reportedly appeared near the driver’s seat, and thick smoke quickly spread through the vehicle.
Panic followed as passengers struggled to escape. Some broke the windows and jumped from the moving bus, while others rushed towards the front and exited after the driver eventually brought the vehicle to a halt.
Neeraj said Sunita, whose movement was restricted because of her injured knee, was unable to keep up with the other passengers.
“Amid that scramble, Sunita, unable to move quickly because of her injured knee, fell behind. Other passengers told me that Shashank refused to leave her side,” he said.
According to Neeraj, both the driver and conductor urged Shashank to get out while there was still time, but he refused to leave without his mother.
“He stayed, trying to pull her towards the door as the cabin filled with smoke, until neither of them could breathe and lost consciousness,” Neeraj said.
Shashank worked as an engineer with IndiGo Airlines in Gurgaon. He is survived by his father and his 22-year-old younger brother, Nikhil, who is still studying in college.
The bodies of Shashank and Sunita were taken to Charkhari on Friday.
Police also released the body of Omprakash Dhan Singh, the ninth victim whose identity was confirmed. Six other victims had been identified a day earlier: 28-year-old Shruti Rawat of Chhatarpur, Madhya Pradesh; Saroj Gupta, 52, Mayank Gupta, 28, and Usha Devi, 65, all from Hamirpur; Devendra Sahay Bhardwaj, 60, of Hisar, Haryana; and Har Sharan Gupta, 55, of Jalaun.
Police said all nine bodies were handed over to their respective families after post-mortem examinations.
Preliminary investigations suggest that a short circuit involving the bus’s air-conditioning system may have triggered the fire. Officials suspect that the vehicle’s electrical wiring may have been overloaded by the AC system, lights and LED strips.
