Lake Town: 3 dead after speeding bus rams into car

KOLKATA: Three persons were killed after a bus rammed into a car on VIP Road in Lake Town in the wee hours of Monday.

It is alleged that the accused driver Faiijulla Gazi had stolen the bus and fled. He was produced at the Bidhannagar ACJM Court and has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.

He was booked for ‘attempt to commit culpable homicide not amounting to murder along with rash driving’.

According to sources, Gazi the driver of the said bus on route number 44 (Baguiati-Howrah) was sacked by the owner about a year ago after he was caught driving the bus in a drunk condition. Later, Gazi tried to convince the owner and requested to reappoint him. But the owner refused and appointed a new driver.

Late on Sunday night around 1:24 pm, the owner of the bus informed the Baguiati Police Station that the bus was missing from its terminus in Baguiati. When cops along with the owner and other bus owners and drivers were looking around Baguiati trying to find out which way the bus goes, around 3:20 am they spotted the bus coming from Joramandir’s direction.

Despite police and others trying to stop it, Gazi increased speed and moved towards Lake Town. Meanwhile, police and other bus owners started chasing the stolen bus.

Gazi allegedly violated all the traffic signals en route and rammed behind a hatchback that was waiting at the Lake Town Clock Tower crossing on VIP Road for a green signal. After hitting the car, the bus continued to move towards Kolkata. At the Dakshindari Crossing, the bus rammed behind a stone chip-laden truck and stopped.

The police personnel and traffic cops caught the driver then. The injured persons were rushed to R G Kar Medical College and Hospital where three of them were declared brought dead.

The driver of the hatchback is critical and still undergoing treatment.