Youth burnt alive as marriage party bus catches fire

Keonjhar: A youth was charred to death after a bus in which he was sound asleep, suddenly caught fire in the wee hours today in Santarapur village under Ghatagaon police limits in Keonjhar district. The deceased was identified as Rajesh Giri of Nusuripasi village.

As per reports, the incident happened after the bus returned from the bride's place (Keleipasi) to Santarapur last night. While all the members of the marriage party de-boarded and departed to the groom's house, Giri slept off in the bus. The bus reportedly caught fire and Giri was burnt alive even before he could think of escaping from the flames.

"The bus which was booked for a marriage party travelled from Santarapur (groom's village) to Keleipasi village for the wedding. Later, it returned to Santarapur last night and was parked next to the groom's house where it later caught fire," said a local.

While the source of fire is yet to be ascertained, Ghatagaon police has launched a probe into the incident. "Fire tenders have warded off the fire and the body has been recovered. We have started an investigation and are yet to be certain about the source of fire," said Ghatagaon SDPO, Rabindra Kumar Mallick.