In the early hours of Wednesday, a 21-year-old man from Karnataka was charred to death after his bike collided with a private bus in Karnataka's Kolar district. Neeraj, a resident of Vivekanand Nagar in Kolar's Bangarpet was riding his Yamaha R1 bike on the Bangarpet Road along with his friend. At the deviation curve along the road, Neeraj's bike collided with a private bus. Due to the impact, the bike toppled over, throwing the pillion rider a few metres away from the bike. When the bike hit the ground, the fuel tank burst, leading to a combustion. Neeraj's body immediately caught fire and he was burned to death on the side of the road.
Passersby, who stopped to see what had caused the fire spotted Neeraj's friend and immediately called for an ambulance. A resident of Bangarpet and an eyewitness, Varun, who was returning to Bangarpet, made the 100 call and alerted the police.
"I was coming in the opposite direction. The bike rider was speeding. It was very foggy in the morning and the deviation bend along the road can be dangerous as the visibility was very low. The bike rider and his friend were speeding and they went past me. A few seconds later, I heard a loud noise. I stopped and turned. There was a fire. I turned my bike around and went to see what had happened. He was on fire. I saw his friend fallen on the side near the bushes. I called the police and the ambulance," Varun said.
The ambulance arrived within minutes and Neeraj's friend was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he underwent treatment. "When I went to see what happened, I saw the man was on fire. I did not have any jacket or cloth to suppress the flames and I was also a little scared. So I just decided to call the police and ambulance. I also gave the other man some water," Varun added.
Bangarpet Police say that the pillion rider is out of danger. "Nothing happened to the passengers inside the bus. The chassis was damaged. Prima facie, it looks like Neeraj rammed straight into the bus," Bangarpet Police said. A case of accidental death has been registered.