A devastating accident in Rajasthan claimed three lives and left six others severely injured when a sleeper bus carrying over 70 migrant labourers caught fire after making contact with a high-tension power line. Preliminary investigations revealed that the tragedy occurred because the driver tried to evade a ₹100 toll, taking a dangerous shortcut through a narrow village road instead of the highway. Officials later confirmed that the vehicle had been illegally modified and was operating in gross violation of transport safety norms, exposing major lapses in enforcement.
The ill-fated bus had departed from Puranpur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Pilibhit district, bound for a brick kiln near Todi village in Manoharpur, around 70 kilometres from Jaipur. It was just 500 metres short of its destination when disaster struck. The vehicle, already overloaded far beyond capacity, carried not only labourers but also 15 LPG cylinders, six motorcycles, goats, and poultry—belongings the workers were transporting for their stay at the kiln. Survivors later said that despite multiple warnings about the low-hanging live wires, the driver insisted on taking the dirt road to avoid the toll plaza, a choice that proved fatal.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic and chaos. “We told him the wires were too low, but he said we’d reach in five minutes,” recounted Ram Kishan, one of the survivors. “Then there was a loud crack, and suddenly, flames everywhere.” Another passenger, Shabeena, travelling with her two-year-old daughter, said, “The driver saw the wires but didn’t stop. When the current hit, he jumped out first. I threw my child out of the window and followed.” Those who escaped watched helplessly as the bus was engulfed in fire within minutes, triggered by a motorcycle tied to the roof brushing against the high-voltage wire, which then ignited the LPG cylinders.
By the time firefighters from Manoharpur and Shahpura reached the site, the vehicle had been reduced to a charred metal shell. The remains of two men and one woman were recovered from inside. Six injured passengers, including a three-year-old girl, were admitted to Jaipur’s Sawai Man Singh Hospital, where doctors confirmed that all were stable and out of danger.
Authorities investigating the case found that the bus had undergone unauthorised structural alterations to increase its size, and its roof was fitted with a heavy-duty carrier designed to hold motorcycles and LPG cylinders—both strictly prohibited under safety laws. Worse still, the emergency exit had been welded shut from the inside to make room for additional passengers. Despite these blatant violations, the bus managed to travel hundreds of kilometres from Uttar Pradesh to Rajasthan without being stopped by a single transport checkpoint, raising serious concerns about enforcement failures.
Local residents expressed anger over repeated complaints about low-hanging electricity wires in the area that had gone ignored. “We warned authorities many times,” said a villager who joined rescue efforts. “Because of one driver’s greed to save ₹100, three people are dead today.” Police have since registered cases against the driver, conductor, and the brick kiln owner who hired the workers. The driver and conductor reportedly fled the scene immediately after the fire and remain on the run.
This tragedy marks the second major bus fire in Rajasthan within a month. On October 15, a similar incident near Jodhpur–Jaisalmer claimed 21 lives, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce compensation and call for stricter enforcement of safety regulations. Yet, the latest inferno near Jaipur serves as another grim reminder that systemic negligence and poor oversight continue to endanger lives on Indian roads—a hundred rupees saved, and three lives lost.
