In a shocking incident, a bus driver and his assistant were charred to death after they allegedly slept drunk by lighting candles inside their bus at Khadgarha bus stand on Diwali night. The bus of Moonlight services was parked at Khadgarha bus stand as bus services were suspended on Monday due to Diwali.
The police have identified the driver as Madan Mahto, a resident of Gumla, while the helper Mohammed Ibrahim has been identified as a resident of Chaibasa. Sources said that the fire incident occurred after the bus driver and helper reportedly offered their prayers on the night of Diwali.
The bus runs between Ranchi and Chaibasa. Before commencing the journey, the two had paid their respect to deities and decided to snooze.
Thereafter, the vehicle caught fire that broke out from an earthen lamp placed on the dashboard of the bus near the idols. A source said that a massive fire engulfed the bus and another bus parked nearby. Both the driver and his assistant were burnt alive in the fateful accident. The bus was scheduled to leave for its destination on the day of the festival and it has been said that the duo had lit lamps inside the bus. Sources said that within a few minutes the entire bus had blazed up, killing the two after they failed to wake up in time or escape the bus.
The police reached the spot after the incident was reported and their bodies were sent for post-mortem. Officer-in-charge of Lower Bazar police station, Sanjay Kumar said that if the police had not swung into action after getting information, the casualty figures had been more.
“When fire engulfed the bus, as many as 52 buses were parked at the stand. The driver of the Kohinoor bus, which was parked beside the Moonlight bus, realized the fire after and woke up raising an alarm. It was getting to 10 pm. One of the police officers was present at the Kanta Toli bus stand. He immediately informed the fire brigade and they turned up at the spot without wasting time. Meanwhile, drivers of the other buses moved their buses to safe locations, reducing the possibility of spreading fire,†the OC said.
Asked about the attempt made to save the driver and helper, Kumar said: “Those present at the bus stand tried to make both driver and conductor wake up. They knocked on the doors of buses locked from the inside. But completely drunk they did not respond and before any other measures could be taken to save them they got charred. Finally, two burnt bodies were recovered from the bus.â€
