E-Paper
Passenger ‘dies of suffocation’ as bus gets stuck in queue during fitness check by ARTO
According to his son, the man was unwell and died possibly due to suffocation after the bus ignition was turned off by the driver resulting in the shutdown of the AC
LUCKNOW A 51-year-old passenger allegedly died of suffocation on Friday when the private sleeper AC bus he was travelling in got stuck in a queue for over 45 minutes, with the AC put off, during a random fitness check by the assistant regional transport officer (ARTO) near Raunahi toll plaza in Ayodhya.
Passengers staged a protest when they came to know about the incident.
The deceased, Ram Chandra Sahu, had boarded the bus for his hometown Supaul in Bihar from New Delhi and was travelling with his wife Vinti Devi, 50, and son, Vipin Sahu, 17. Deputy transport commissioner (Lucknow region) Surendra Kumar ordered a probe into the incident.
According to Vipin, his father was unwell and died possibly due to suffocation after the bus ignition was turned off by the driver resulting in the shutdown of the AC.
“Around 6.30am, the bus stopped on National Highway 27 near Raunahi toll plaza,” Vipin told media persons.
“After 25 minutes, we came to know that the RTO was carrying out a vehicle fitness checking drive. Stranded for over 45 minutes, my father choked to death,” he added.
There were reports of another death in another bus that got stuck in the same queue during the fitness test, but it was not confirmed by officials.
