Hundreds of angry protestors set five buses on fire and blocked traffic on the arterial Eastern Metropolitan Bypass road in Kolkata on Saturday after a bus ran over and killed two men, The Times of India reported.
The accident occurred at 11 am at the busy Chingrighata crossing. The local people alleged that the bus jumped a traffic signal and hit the two men – Biswajit Bhuiyan and Sanjay Banik, both first-year college students – who live in a locality close to the accident site, NDTV reported. The bus driver then fled the spot, reports said.
The police allegedly began baton-charging protestors, who were angry at lack of proper vigil at the accident-prone area and pelted them with stones. The agitators reportedly vandalised a police vehicle and attacked the fire department trucks.
The local MLA, Trinamool Congress’s Sujit Bose, later visited the spot. “It was an unfortunate accident but I urge people to remain calm,” NDTV quoted him as saying.
The MLA promised that senior police officers would speak to the people who live in nearby localities and address their grievances. “I have spoken to the locals,” Bose said. “They want a subway to cross the busy road.”
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