Helper charred to death as parked bus catches fire
Cops suspect no foul play, say incense stick likely triggered blaze
A man was charred to death after a parked bus caught fire in the Vikaspuri area of west Delhi in the early hours of Monday, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Sunil Sharma (25), a native of Jharkhand. He worked as a helper on the bus and sleep inside the vehicle at night.
The police suspect that Sunil might have lit an incense stick inside the vehicle to ward off mosquitoes, which likely triggered the fire.
A PCR call was received at the Vikaspuri police station around 12:33 am, reporting that a bus parked near Krishi Apartments has caught fire.
After getting information, a police team rushed to the spot and tried to open the bus. Two fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames. After the flames were extinguished, the police found a charred body inside the bus.
The bus, bearing a Haryana registration number, is owned by Vijay Kumar (46) and was operating with Uber. The police said several other buses belonging to the owner were parked nearby, where drivers and helpers usually sleep at night.
While the probe is still underway, the police said preliminary findings suggest the fire might have been caused by an incense stick. The body had been shifted to a mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for post-mortem examination.
Residents said the bus was almost burnt completely by the time firefighters arrived.
“We saw the bus on flames around 12:30 am. I immediately called the fire brigade. By 12:45 am when the firemen reached and broke the windows, the bus was completely engulfed in flames,” said Vijay, a resident of Priya Apartments.
They police suspect no foul play behind the incident so far. A crime team inspected the scene. Further proceedings are underway under Section 194 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), officials said.
