The identity of the driver who died after being injured in the bus arson incident in Tripureshwar, Kathmandu, has been confirmed.
According to Senior Superintendent of Police Dilip Ghimire of the District Police Range, Kathmandu, the deceased has been identified as Arjun Dong Tamang of Sisneri in Indra Sarowar Rural Municipality, Makawanpur.
Tamang was also injured while setting fire to Riddhi Siddhi Yatayat’s bus with registration number Ba 5 Kha 4274 in Tripureshwar around noon on Monday. He died while undergoing treatment at Kirtipur Hospital on Monday night.
Initial reports had identified the man involved in the fire as Dawa Lama. However, police later found that Lama’s driving license had been misused. Tamang had also told traffic police that he was Dawa. After Lama subsequently contacted the authorities, police began investigating the man’s actual identity.
According to SSP Ghimire, Tamang had used not only Lama’s driving license but also his bank account and citizenship certificate. Ghimire said that Tamang may have used identity cards and other documents issued in the names of various other people as well.
Police records show that Tamang had previously been involved in an accident in Balaju in October 2025, when a bus overturned leaving three people injured, and had fled the scene. SSP Ghimire said that Tamang had used a driving license issued in the name of Sunil Tamang at the time.
Ghimire said that Tamang was found to have used a driving license issued in the name of Dawa Tamang in an incident about three months ago involving misbehavior with traffic police in the Mulpani area.
A video of an argument between Tamang and traffic police at Tripureshwar Chowk around noon on Monday had also surfaced. In the video, he can be heard angrily saying that traffic police were trying to issue him a ticket despite him not having committed any wrongdoing.
During the dispute, he parked the bus across the road. He later drove and stopped it at a bus stop. After all the passengers had got off, he set fire inside the bus. He was also injured in the fire. Police rescued him and took him to Kirtipur Hospital for treatment.
A five-member probe committee has been formed under Senior Superintendent of Police Ramesh Basnet of the Kathmandu Valley Police Office to investigate the incident. The committee has been instructed to submit its report as soon as possible.
