Police Suspect Driver Set Fire to Bus in Tripureshwor, Condition Critical

Dragon Media Correspondent

Police have reached a preliminary conclusion that the driver may have set fire to a moving bus in Tripureshwor after asking all passengers to get off. Investigators, however, have yet to determine the motive or identify the substance used to start the fire, and police have stressed that the finding remains preliminary.

The driver of the bus, registration number Ba 2 Kha 4274, has been identified as 23-year-old Dawa Lama of Panauti, Kavrepalanchok. Kathmandu Police Chief SSP Dilip Ghimire said information gathered so far indicates that the driver may have started the fire himself, while investigators are continuing to question passengers and other people associated with the bus.

Police are also examining the fact that Lama apparently did not attempt to flee after the fire began. Witnesses reported that the flames initially appeared to originate from the passenger seating area. Traffic Police SP Naresh Subedi said the bus door was locked from inside when the police team arrived and officers had to break it open to enter the vehicle and rescue the driver. It has not yet been established whether petrol or another flammable substance was used.

Lama was taken to the burn hospital in Kirtipur with critical injuries. According to doctor Shankar Rai, more than 90 percent of his body sustained burns. Police have described his condition as critical. The fire was brought under control with the assistance of firefighters.

Police are continuing their investigation to establish how the fire started, what may have been used to ignite it and the circumstances surrounding the incident. Although the preliminary investigation is focused on the possibility that the driver started the fire himself, authorities have not yet announced a final conclusion.