Bus in Kurnool blaze had illegal sleeper conversion, probe reveals
HYDERABAD: The private bus that caught fire in Kurnool district, killing 20 passengers and injuring 27 others, had been illegally converted from a seater to a sleeper coach without mandatory safety clearance, officials said on October 24.
The vehicle, operated by Vemuri Kaveri Travels, was originally registered in Daman and Diu in 2018 as a 43-seater vehicle and was re-registered in Odisha’s Rayagada Regional Transport Office on April 29, 2025. However, the bus still bore the old Daman and Diu registration number while operating between Telangana and Karnataka via Andhra Pradesh.
According to the All India Tourist Permit, the bus was authorised for 43 sitting passengers and zero sleeper berths. In reality, the company had replaced all seats with sleeper berths.
RTO officials confirmed that such structural modifications require prior permission. “Seating arrangement is directly linked to the vehicle’s structural design. It is compulsory for travel agencies to take necessary permits from their RTAs before making such changes,” an official told Deccan Chronicle.
Major safety lapses in sleeper conversion
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways prescribes separate construction norms for seater and sleeper coaches, with stricter fire safety requirements. Sleeper buses must have additional emergency exits, fire-suppression systems and hammers at each berth for window evacuation in emergencies.
Investigators said the lack of these systems contributed to the high death toll.
The bus was insured until April 2026, had road tax valid till March 2026, and fitness certification till March 2027. However, experts said its multi-state operation violated Section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which requires fresh registration or inter-state permits for vehicles used in another state for over 12 months.
Registration in low-tax regions questioned
Industry insiders alleged that many private operators register their buses in low-tax Union Territories or northeastern states to evade higher road taxes and inspections.
A former driver said, “Many buses are registered in Nagaland or Daman and Diu to avoid stricter checks. In Hyderabad, at least police inspect vehicles, but elsewhere, officials simply stamp them approved.”
Telangana levies 7.5% road tax on commercial vehicles, which for a ₹90-lakh bus amounts to ₹6.75 lakh, excluding green tax and other charges. In Daman and Diu, tax for vehicles priced above ₹10 lakh is just 3%.
Authorities are now investigating how the illegally modified bus obtained registration and fitness approvals despite such irregularities.
