Greater Noida bus fire: booking manager arrested for negligence

The Greater Noida police on Friday arrested the booking manager of Raj Kalpana Travels, one of whose buses, en route to Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh, burst into flames on the night of September 23, killing nine passengers.

An officer said analysis of call detail records showed that passengers had contacted the manager — 42-year-old Kanpur resident Vikas Kumar — to flag concerns about smoke and fire before the blaze.

However, he did not take any action despite being alerted, said the police. He has been booked for negligence.

The bus, with around 35 passengers on board, was about 5 km from the Noida International Airport when the fire broke out.

As per the FIR, registered at the Jewar police station following a complaint by a survivor, passengers noticed a burning smell from the driver’s cabin around 11.30 p.m. and repeatedly asked the crew to stop. But the driver dismissed it as a common occurrence and did not stop to inspect the vehicle.

Sent to judicial custody

Earlier, the police had arrested two drivers and a conductor. All four accused were produced before the District and Sessions Court in Surajpur on Friday and were remanded in 14 days’ judicial custody.

Breathalyser tests conducted on the drivers and conductor have returned negative results, the police said. Meanwhile, three more victims were identified on Friday and their bodies were handed over to their families. A senior officer said the bodies were severely burnt and were identified through DNA tests, along with the verification of physical features by relatives.