Sleeper Bus From Jaipur Overturn; 2 Dead And 23 Injured

New Delhi : A sleeper bus coming from Jaipur overturned near Hanuman Mandir in central Delhi’s Karol Bagh area in the early hours of Wednesday, killing two passengers and injuring 23 others, officials said. He said that around 1 am, a PCR call was received at Karol Bagh police station informing that many passengers were trapped in the bus following an accident.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Rohit Rajbir said there were around 30 passengers on the bus from Jaipur to Delhi.

The officer said that a police team led by SHO of Karol Bagh, along with duty personnel and night patrol personnel also rushed to the spot and the bus was found overturned.

“The passengers were trapped inside and cried for help,” he added.

Police personnel, Delhi Fire Services and locals immediately launched efforts to extract the trapped passengers, he said, adding that a nearby JCB machine was connected to help lift the bus and rescue those trapped inside.

Eyewitness Nirmal said, “The bus overturned about five minutes before we reached and all the passengers in it were injured. It was coming from somewhere in Rajasthan and was heading towards Noida.”

“As this area is very dark at night, the driver probably couldn’t see anything. The bus was at high speed and suddenly overturned. It also collided with a vehicle and the boards installed there fell over. I was not in that bus; I was traveling from Uttam Nagar to New Delhi,” he said.

Police said around 10 seriously injured passengers were taken to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, 12 injured were taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and one passenger was taken to Lady Hardinge Medical College.

The officer said two passengers, both men, were injured at RML Hospital.

While it was stated that the identity of one of the dead was Shehbaj Alam (30), a resident of Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, the identity of the second victim, who was in his mid-20s, has not yet been identified.

Bus driver Pankaj Kumar (26), a resident of Alwar in Rajasthan, has been detained and is undergoing treatment at Lady Hardinge Medical College.

“Further investigation is on and details of the injured are being collected from hospitals. Necessary legal action will be taken against the driver after completion of the investigation,” the police officer said.

The quick response of police personnel, as well as assistance from the public and the fire department, helped save lives, officials said.