New Delhi, February 9 Police suspect that an incense stick might have caused the fire in a private bus in Delhi's Vikaspuri area, where the charred body of a helper was found inside the vehicle on Sunday.
Police said on Monday that the victim, Sunil (25), would often sleep on the bus at night and burn incense sticks to ward off mosquitoes.
Images of the incident showed that the fire had severely damaged the bus, with its interior scorched and the seat frames reduced to metal skeletons.
Police said that while an investigation is underway, it is suspected that the fire may have been caused by an incense stick.
Sunil's charred body was taken to Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU) Hospital, where it has been kept for post-mortem.
Locals said that the flames were massive and added that by the time fire officials arrived, the entire bus had been destroyed.
"Around 12:30 am (on Sunday), we saw that the bus was on fire. I had already called the fire brigade. By 12.45 am, when the fire brigade people came, they broke the windows. By then, the entire bus was engulfed in flames," said Vijay, a resident of Priya Apartments.
"We were told that the person sleeping inside the bus was a cleaner. The bus drivers were also called," he added.
The bus, which was owned by Vijay Kumar, 46, had a Haryana registration number. Locals were unsure whether it was a tourist or school bus, but said that it had been parked by the roadside for some time.