Kathmandu, Sept 22: A minibus driver who suffered severe burns after setting his vehicle on fire at Tripureshwor died during treatment on Monday night.
The driver, identified as 25-year-old Dawa Lama of Panauti Municipality-6 in Kavre, died at Kirtipur Burn Hospital at around 10 pm, according to burn and plastic surgeon Dr Shankarman Rai.
Lama had suffered burns to 95 percent of his body, hospital medical director Dr Nijina Tamrakar said earlier.
The incident took place at around 12:15 pm following a dispute between Lama and traffic police. Police had reportedly sought his documents and attempted to fine him for unnecessary honking.
Kathmandu District Police Range Superintendent Surya Bahadur Thapa said the dispute escalated after Lama refused to hand over the documents.
A video circulated on social media shows Lama insisting that he had done nothing wrong. He later parked the minibus, registration Ba 5 Kha 4274, across Tripureshwor intersection and obstructed traffic. Traffic police and Armed Police Force personnel then tried to persuade him to move the vehicle.
Lama subsequently set fire to the Riddhisiddhi Yatayat minibus while sitting inside it. The vehicle was completely destroyed.
Kathmandu Valley Police Office has formed a five-member committee led by Senior Superintendent Ramesh Basnet to investigate the incident. Office spokesperson DIG Govinda Thapaliya confirmed the formation of the panel.
The fire occurred at a bus bay outside the Department of Passports, where another fatal self-immolation incident took place about two and a half months ago.
On Asar 25, Ganesh Nepali of Soru Rural Municipality-1 in Mugu set himself on fire following a dispute with Kathmandu Metropolitan City police over a wheel lock placed on his motorcycle. He later died.
A committee led by former High Court judge Keshav Prasad Bastola investigated Nepali’s death and submitted a report to Chief Secretary Govinda Bahadur Karki. The report, however, has neither been made public nor implemented.
The committee recommended placing traffic management under a single agency, strengthening road safety, regulating ride-sharing services and establishing affordable or free counselling centres for people facing severe stress.
It also concluded that a police officer had slapped Nepali during the dispute, but no action was taken against the officer.
The latest death has again raised questions about traffic enforcement practices and the government’s failure to act on the earlier committee’s recommendations.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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