INDIA: THREE GET DEATH SENTENCE IN SENDHWA BUS FIRE CASE

September 13, 2013: A court in Barwani, India, handed down death sentence to three staffers of a bus and life imprisonment and penalty of Rs.62 lakh to the vehicle owner after finding them guilty in Sendhwa bus fire incident in which 15 persons were killed and 20 others injured, two years ago.
Judge Devendra Solanki in his more than 100 pages order awarded capital punishment to bus driver Tarun Sharma, 21, cleaner Rajkumar Singh Kushwaha, 22, conductor, Dilip Soni, 34, and life imprisonment to Naresh Doshi, 61. The driver, conductor and cleaner were condemned to death on the charge of burning, murder and conspiracy, while the bus owner was found guilty of abetting and conspiracy.
Of the Rs.62 lakh compensation, the court has ordered the family member of the deceased should be paid Rs.3 lakh while that of injured should be given Rs.50,000 each.
According to prosecution, the convicts Tarun, Rajkumar and Dilip of Ashoka travels had a dispute with driver and conductor of Sai Kripa Travels in August 2011. They torched the Sai Kripa bus packed with passengers after sprinkling petrol on it. Some passengers managed to jump off the bus from windows and door. Around 58 witnesses deposed in the case. (Sources: intoday.in, 13/09/2013)