20-year-old charred to death as bike collides with bus in Kolar

KOLAR: A 20-year-old youth out on a joyride with his friends on Wednesday morning was charred to death after his high-end bike collided with a private bus off Kolar-Bangarpet Road.

When the bike toppled and hit the ground near Jain school at 7am, fuel spilled on to the road. Soon, the vehicle —a Yamaha R1 — caught fire and Neeraj from Bangarpet was burnt to death on the spot.
Circle inspector Dinesh Patil said Neeraj, a BE student of Reva engineering college, and his friends started their journey on three bikes from Bangarpet at 6.65am.
They were heading towards Kolar and it was reportedly a routine joyride. While negotiating a curve, a bus came from the opposite direction. While others moved ahead, Neeraj’s bike rammed the front part of the bus. Due to the impact, the petrol tank of the bike opened and the engine of the bus too developed a crack, resulting in leakage of petrol and oil. The bike was dragged for about 50 metres along the road and it caught fire in no time.
Vishnu, a newspaper agent, said he was on his way to Bavarahalli when he saw the youths riding at high speed. “It was quite foggy in the morning and visibility was poor. I heard a loud thud and saw the bike and the rider in flames. None dared to go near the bike, fearing the fuel tank might burst.”
Neeraj is the second son of Kumaresh, an agricultural trader from Vivekanandanagar. His s elder brother Deeraj had purchased the second-hand bike for Rs 8 lakh, which originally cost Rs 17 lakh.