Greater Noida bus fire: booking manager arrested, four accused sent to judicial custody

The Greater Noida police on Friday arrested the booking manager of Raj Kalpana Travels in connection with the bus fire that killed nine passengers on the night of September 23. The bus was travelling to Mahoba in Uttar Pradesh when it caught fire about 5 km from Noida International Airport.

According to police, call detail records showed that passengers had contacted the booking manager, 42-year-old Vikas Kumar, a resident of Kanpur, to raise concerns about smoke and fire before the blaze. Despite being alerted, he did not act, and he has been booked for negligence.

The FIR, registered at the Jewar police station on a complaint by a survivor, states that passengers noticed a burning smell from the driver's cabin around 11.30 p.m. and repeatedly asked the crew to stop. The driver, however, dismissed it as a common occurrence and did not halt the vehicle for an inspection.

Around 35 passengers were on board at the time of the incident.

Kumar's arrest follows the earlier detention of two drivers and a conductor. All four accused were produced before the District and Sessions Court in Surajpur on Friday and remanded in 14 days' judicial custody. Police said breathalyser tests on the drivers and conductor returned negative results.

On Friday, three more victims were identified and their bodies handed over to their families. A senior officer said the remains were severely burnt and were identified through DNA tests, along with verification of physical features by relatives.