Kolkata, July 07: Irate locals set on fire eight buses and a fire engine and ransacked a police van following the death of a girl who was run over by a bus at Uttarjhapar at Domjur in Howrah district. The incident occurred at 5.30 pm on Monday. Twelve shops in the adjoining area were also torched by angry locals.
According to police, Riya Das (13), Class VII a student of St Thomas, had alighted from her school bus at the bus stop and was crossing the road to go home when a route 63 Howrah-Domjur bus run over her. The student died on the spot.
Following the accident, angry locals set the bus on fire along with seven other buses that were parked in the vicinity. As a fire engine came to the spot to douse the fire, locals set the fire engine also on fire.
After this, they attacked some 20-odd shops in the adjoining areas. However, there was no casualty, police said.
Police from Dumjur police station reached the spot only to be attacked by the irate mob, after which they had to lathi-charge to bring the situation under control.
The driver of the bus involved in the accident has been arrested and booked. It took almost three hours to bring the entire situation under control, police said.
–Agencies