Killer buses mow down 2 in separate accidents

Kolkata: Buses racing against each other claimed two lives in separate accidents in two parts of the city on Thursday. This comes at a time when the city is hosting a National Conference on Urban Road Traffic Management and Safety at Netaji Indoor Stadium.

Violence erupted following one of the accidents, in which a 22-year-old youth was crushed under the wheels of a minibus en-route to Picnic Garden from Howrah near Paddapukur on CIT Road after the bus driver tried to flee along with the vehicle, by taking a u-turn from the divider.

The bus driver sped up to avoid an arrest. A motorcyclist, who was passing through the area, chased the minibus risking his life and managed to stop the bus a few meters away from the place of the accident. The driver, however, managed to flee. An irate mob went on a rampage, ransacking the vehicle.

The incident occurred at around 3 pm on Thursday and led to a traffic jam in the area.

Police said that the victim, Sudipto Chakraborty (22), a resident of Anandapalit Road, was walking along the road when his mobile phone fell on the road. As he stooped to pick his phone up, a Picnic Garden-bound minibus from Howrah ran over the victim. The wheels of the bus ran over the victim's head.

Local people said that the bus was racing with another private bus of route 72 when the accident occurred. The victim was rushed to National Medical College and Hospital where the doctors pronounced him brought dead.

The driver of the killer bus sped up the vehicle immediately after the accident and took a u-turn from the divider. Abhijit Roy, a medical representative who was going to National Medical College and Hospital on his motorcycle along CIT Road, chased the minibus as a result of which the driver fled from the spot, leaving the vehicle on the road, a few yards from the spot. An angry mob ransacked the vehicle till senior police officers rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Earlier on the day, a similar accident took place at Khanna when a 55-year-old woman was hit by a private bus of route number 202 when it was racing with another bus of route 227.

Police said the victim, Arati Guha (55) was going to her workplace when the bus knocked her down. She was a resident of Manicktala.

The buses were competing with each other on their way to Sealdah. The accident took place when the 202 route bus tried to overtake the other at a high speed and hit the woman, following which she fell on the tram line.

Local people took the injured victim to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital where she was declared brought dead.

Police arrested the drivers of both the buses after the incident. They said that the victims used to work as an attendant (Aya) to look after her ailing husband.

Police said the vehicle did not stop despite applying repeated brakes, as it was fitted with rethreaded tyres. Local residents alleged that the vehicles were racing with each other, flouting traffic norms.

In another accident, eight persons including six students from a private school in New Town, were injured when the school bus there were travelling in was hit by a speeding bus near Narkelbagan on Thursday afternoon. The children were taken to a nearby private hospital for treatment.