On 14 October 2025, a moving AC sleeper bus caught fire on the Jaisalmer-Jodhpur Highway in Jaisalmer. The incident that took 26 lives, was caused by a short circuit in the bus’s air-conditioning system, as reported by officials. Against this backdrop, a photo of a newspaper (Dainik Navjyoti) page went viral on social media, containing detailed news of the incident. Text on the paper stated, “In the Jaisalmer accident, the owner of Jain Travels’ bus, Turab Ali, and driver Shaukat were arrested.” Sharing the photo, a user wrote, “Name of Business : Jain Travels
Name of Owner : Turab Ali alias Barkat Khan
Name of Driver : Shoukat Ali
~ Fire broke out in the AC bus..
~ The gate was locked…
~ 20 people got burnt alive …
~ Owner & Driver have been arrested…
~ Seating was illegally changed to sleeper…
~ The emergency door was closed & sealed & a seat attached ontop of it…
~ Bus Doors were jammed & the windows were too small to escape…
~ Fake registration of bus was done from Chittor, eventhough the Bus Owner & Business were from Jaisalmer..”
Facebook Link | Archived Link.
However, as we investigated, we came to know that the claim was misleading. The bus didn’t belong to Jain Travels. Here’s the fact check.
Fact Check
We started our investigation by conducting a relevant keyword search. We found a report published in Dainik Bhaskar on 15 October 2025 that read, “A sleeper bus caught fire due to a short circuit after AC gas leaked on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 near Thaiyat village on Jodhpur-Jaisalmer highway. There were 40 passengers in the bus. 20 people were burnt alive while 16 people with more than 70% burns have been admitted to Jodhpur hospital. Women and children are also among the injured. According to the police report, the bus left for Jodhpur from Jaisalmer at 3 pm. The biggest negligence was that the main gate got locked after the fire broke out. Due to the absence of an emergency gate and a jammed window, the passengers were trapped.
Additionally, firecrackers stored in the bus’s trunk further spread the fire. Meanwhile, passengers burned inside, while people stood helplessly on the road outside. Late at night, Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma arrived at the scene and ordered the best possible treatment for the injured. Meanwhile, the injured were transported to Jodhpur via a 208-kilometre green corridor…”
Moving forward we found the e-paper of Dainik Navjyoti and Dainik Bhaskar on 15 October 2025 that can be seen below.
The above images make it clear that the viral photo is a collage of the two pages of Dainik Navjyoti and Dainik Bhaskar on 15 October 2025. The text that read, “In the Jaisalmer accident, the owner of Jain Travels’ bus, Turab Ali, and driver Shaukat were arrested” was not originally written in the two newspapers. It is confirmed that the text was added later.
A report published on Bhaskar English stated that in the aftermath of the Jaisalmer bus fire, the Police arrested the bus owner Turab Ali and the driver Shaukat on Wednesday night (15 October).
According to a tweet on the official X handle of the Jaisalmer Police, the bus belonged to K.K. Travels. It mentioned that the company which built the body of the bus has been seized by the RTO, Jodhpur. The name of the ‘coach work’ owner is Manish Jain and an investigation is going on regarding his role.
A report published in Dainik Bhaskar reads, “Police have taken action in the Jaisalmer bus fire case. Manish Jain, owner of Jain Travels and Jainam Coach Crafts Workshop, has been arrested in Jodhpur.
Investigations revealed that the body of the bus that caught fire was manufactured at the Jainam Coach Crafts workshop in Mogra, near Jodhpur, owned by Manish Jain, the owner of Jain Travels.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Shivhar, Abhishek Sheohar, stated that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate the horrific fire accident on Tuesday (October 14). Bus owner Turab Ali and driver Shaukat have been arrested so far.
Chandan Singh, brother of deceased journalist Rajendra Singh Chauhan, filed a complaint at Sadar police station the same night. Based on this complaint, the police launched an investigation and took action against Jain Travels and other related parties. Manish Jain was produced in court and taken on a two-day police remand.
The body of the bus was made in Mogra, Jodhpur.
An investigation revealed that the body of the bus that caught fire was made at the Jainam Coach Crafts workshop in Mogra, near Jodhpur. At Jainam Coach Crafts, bus construction begins with the chassis. First, an iron frame is created. Then, seats, cabins, and other structures are built on it.
The workshop handles all the work, from electrical wiring to cabin fittings. Following the accident, the Transport Department has also seized 66 buses located at the workshop. All these buses will remain there until the investigation is complete.
Defects in the AC and wiring were found.
The bus was registered as a non-AC vehicle, but later, after modifications, AC was installed. Experts have also raised questions about the AC load and wiring. The AC increased the electrical load, which led to the accident. However, an investigation is currently underway.
The size of the emergency door also does not meet the standards. Two seats were added in front of the emergency door, blocking the emergency exit. Furthermore, the bus’s dimensions were increased to accommodate the number of seats and sleepers, violating the established standards.
24 dead, 10 injured undergoing treatment.
So far, 24 people have died in the accident, while 10 injured are undergoing treatment in the hospital. One injured person has been discharged after treatment. Following the accident, everyone from the President, the Prime Minister, to Chief Minister Bhajan Lal has expressed condolences.”
This makes it clear that the bus belonged to K.K.Travels and the body of the bus was built in the ‘Coach Works’ of Manish Jain.
Conclusion
From our investigation, we can say that the claim is misleading. The bus belonged to K.K.Travels and was owned by Turab Ali. On the other hand, Manish Jain’s company built the body of the bus. Moreover, the text in the newspaper that read, “In the Jaisalmer accident, the owner of Jain Travels’ bus, Turab Ali, and driver Shaukat were arrested” was not originally written in the two newspapers. The text was added later.
Title:The Jaisalmer Bus Accident News Has Been Shared With Misleading Communal Claims.
Fact Check By: Debanjana BaishyaResult: Misleading
