Kathmandu, Sept. 22: Transport entrepreneurs and workers’ organisations have demanded an independent judicial investigation into the death of a bus driver who died after setting fire to the vehicle he was driving in Tripureshwor following a dispute with traffic police.
Six umbrella organisations — the Federation of Nepalese National Transport Entrepreneurs, Nepal Transport National Federation, Nepal Transport Independent Workers’ Organisation, Public Transport Central Federation, All Nepal Transport Workers’ Association and Nepal Transport Workers’ Association — issued a joint statement on Tuesday, saying the incident should not be treated simply as a dispute between a driver and traffic police.
They have demanded a judicial investigation involving relevant stakeholders into the circumstances leading from the initial dispute to the fire, including CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts, telephone records and the conduct of the police personnel involved.
According to the organisations, the incident began after the Ba 5 Kha 4274 bus, travelling from Mulpani towards Thankot, reached the Tripureshwor area. They claim that driver Dawa Lama honked after a motorcycle obstructed traffic and that traffic police subsequently stopped the bus, demanded documents and attempted to take action against him.
The organisations further claim that additional traffic police arrived, passengers were asked to leave the bus and the driver was kept at the scene for around two hours before being taken towards the Valley Traffic Police Office at Baggikhana. They allege that Lama objected to being taken there.
The statement says the vehicle owner was later contacted by traffic police and asked to send the driver to Baggikhana. According to the organisations, the owner subsequently spoke with Lama, who said he had done nothing wrong and complained of mental pressure and harassment from traffic police. The organisations claim that the owner informed the relevant police officials about Lama’s condition before the driver locked himself inside the bus and set it on fire.
However, police accounts provide a different and still evolving picture of the events.
According to police, the dispute escalated after traffic police sought the driver’s documents over alleged unnecessary honking.
A video circulated on social media appears to show the driver refusing to accept a fine and arguing with traffic personnel. Police have also said that the driver had parked the bus in a way that obstructed traffic and that additional police personnel attempted to persuade him to move the vehicle.
Police initially identified the injured driver as 25-year-old Dawa Lama of Kavre on the basis of a driving licence found with him. But subsequent reports said a person named Dawa Lama contacted authorities and said he was alive, raising questions over whether the licence had been used by someone else.
The Kathmandu District Police Complex has subsequently identified the deceased as Arjun Dong Tamang, while police say he had allegedly used driving licences issued in other people’s names. Police also allege that he had been wanted for questioning following a previous bus accident in Balaju and had earlier been involved in a dispute with traffic police. These are police claims and remain part of the investigation.
The driver died while undergoing treatment at a burn hospital in Kirtipur on Monday night after suffering extensive burns. Reports citing hospital officials said more than 90 percent of his body had been burned.
The dispute over what happened before the fire comes as police have already formed a five-member investigation committee led by SSP Ramesh Basnet. According to Valley Police Office spokesperson DIG Gobinda Thapaliya, the committee has been instructed to investigate the incident and recommend action.
