BMTC conductor bought fuel hours before his death, finds state probe

An investigation into the death of a Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) bus conductor, charred to death inside a bus, found that the victim had purchased fuel from a nearby petrol pump station hours before the incident occurred.

A police officer investigating the case said that the conductor was dejected as he was unable to pay the loans he had availed, and they are probing the possibility of him having died by suicide.

On March 10, the 43-year-old conductor, a resident of Hunagunda taluk in the Bagalkote district, was charred to death inside a parked BMTC bus at the Summanahalli depot. The bus was also burnt from the inside, and the cause of the fire was initially not known, officials said.

The Byadarahalli police, which is investigating the case, have collected the CCTV footage from the petrol bunk. According to the police, a close analysis of CCTV camera footage from in and around the area found that he had made a small transaction of ₹700 through a UPI application and bought petrol from a nearby petrol pump.

“The CCTV footage we obtained showed that Muthaiah had bought petrol from a nearby bunk and that he paid through an online wallet in which ₹700 was deducted,” an investigating officer said.

According to the police, the victim was sleeping inside the bus parked at Lingadheeranahalli bus stand after completing the night shift when the fire broke out around 4:45 am.

In a statement, the BMTC said that after parking the bus, with the registration number KA-57-2069, the driver was asleep in the dormitory reserved for the crew at the bus stand, while Muthaiah preferred to sleep inside the bus.

Following the incident, higher officials rushed to the spot, informed the fire department and called emergency services. Despite their efforts to put out the fire, officials were unable to save the conductor. They later informed Muthaiah’s kin about the incident, officials said.

The police said that the incident is being investigated from all angles and that they are awaiting the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report to ascertain the cause of death.