The two passenger buses belonging to Himachal Road Transport Corporation and Chandigarh Transport Undertaking were set on fire last night by unidentified persons at Baijnath, 20 kms from Palampur. Both the buses were parked on the Pathankot- Mandi National Highway. The incident occurred at around 1 am.
The conductors and driver of the buses said they were sleeping in a nearby restroom. Both the buses had arrived at 8 pm and were scheduled to depart for Chandigarh and Shimla at 6 am. The residents living near the highway noticed smoke coming out of the buses. They called the local fire fighting vehicles, which reached the spot within minutes. However, by that time fire fighting vehicles reached there, both the buses were totally destroyed in the fire.
The local resident reported that assailants set tyres on fire and then the fire spread inside the vehicles, causing extensive damage estimated at 40 lakh to each bus. Earlier, some youths and drivers aided by locals tried to extinguish the flames until a fire engine arrived.
Four days ago, a car was set on fire at the same place by some miscreants.
Police have questioned a few locals who were spotted near the buses. A police officer at Baijnath said that a case of damage to public property had been registered at Baijnath police station. However, no arrests have been made so far. Police are also collecting CCTV footage from nearby shops. He said those responsible will be arrested soon.