The Jaisalmer bus fire on October 14 that killed 26 passengers was not a mystery of explosions or fireworks but a result of pure negligence. A forensic science laboratory (FSL) report has confirmed that the tragedy was caused by a short circuit in the air-conditioning system.

The bus, travelling from Jaisalmer to Jodhpur, had barely covered 10 kilometres when flames erupted. Investigators have ruled out any involvement of bombs, firecrackers, or explosions, calling the incident a case of “gross negligence” by those who owned and constructed the vehicle.

How the Fire Spread So Fast

Jaisalmer Superintendent of Police Abhishek Shivhare described the exact sequence that turned the bus into a furnace. The blaze started with a short circuit in the AC’s faulty roof wiring, which was connected directly to the engine. The spark filled the air-conditioning ducts with dense, toxic smoke and carbon monoxide, quickly spreading across the passenger cabin.

Before the bus was fully engulfed, people inside had already begun choking and gasping for air. In desperation, passengers broke the glass windows to escape. But as authorities later clarified, that act made the situation even worse. Fresh oxygen rushed in and “snowballed” the fire, converting the bus into a raging inferno within 5 to 7 minutes.

False Explosive Rumours

Police have firmly stated that rumours of explosives or firecrackers are baseless. The forensic report confirmed no trace of explosive residue anywhere. Although officers recovered unburnt firecrackers near the main door and about 35 potash guns—devices used by farmers to scare animals—these had no connection to the blaze. Even the diesel tank and tyres were intact, proving that a technical fault alone triggered the fire.

A Preventable Tragedy Fueled by Greed

Investigations have revealed that this horrific event could easily have been avoided. The wiring for the AC system was installed without proper safety standards, and the materials used in the bus’s body were not fire-resistant, catching fire almost instantly.

The negligence did not stop there. The bus had no fire extinguisher, no emergency hammers, and shockingly, a seat was fitted right over the emergency exit, making it useless during the crisis. Officials stressed that “timely inspection and proper technical fitting would have stopped this from ever happening.”

What emerges from the findings is a grim picture of profit put above human life—where shortcuts in construction and bribes replaced regulation and safety.

Government Crackdown: 66 Buses Seized

In response, the Rajasthan government initiated swift action. The Transport Department seized all 66 bus chassis from the Jainam Coach Crafts Workshop, owned by Manish Jain, who also operates Jain Travels. Authorities have begun the process of cancelling their fraudulent registrations.

A ten-day state-wide inspection drive followed, checking over 2,000 buses. The results were alarming—398 buses were seized and 1,089 were fined for safety violations. Investigators discovered that the burned bus had been illegally converted into an AC vehicle even though it was registered as non-AC. This overloaded the wiring and directly caused the short circuit.

Further, the owner blocked the emergency gate with two seats and extended the vehicle’s size illegally to cram in extra seats and sleeper berths—clear breaches of transport safety norms.

RTO-Builder Collusion in Registration Fraud

A Bhaskar report uncovered blatant collusion between Regional Transport Office (RTO) officers and bus builders, allowing unsafe and incomplete buses to get registered. Some buses were approved even before their bodies were built. At the Jainam workshop, investigators found 26 buses already registered on paper before physical construction had even started.

This network of fraud stretched across Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Nagaland, and Assam. The report pointedly noted that in Rajasthan, “an RTO inspector verified three of the five buses before their bodies were built,” pretending they were complete. One of these buses was later fully registered in regions such as Jodhpur, Chittorgarh, Sikar, and Bikaner.

Three Arrests and Ongoing Probe

As the magnitude of regulatory failure became clear, authorities arrested three key individuals—the bus driver, the bus owner, and Manish Jain, the factory owner responsible for the vehicle’s construction. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) continues to probe deeper into how such gross violations escaped inspection for so long.

Officials maintain that this tragedy stands as a grim reminder of what happens when greed, corruption, and negligence intersect, costing innocent lives in minutes.