Another school student dies in an accident due to road rage between two errant bus drivers near Gate 2 at Salt Lake. The accident claimed the life of a Class IV student, with two others critically injured. Accident caused a huge traffic jam in that area, spilling up to the EM Bypass.

According to reports, the child died due to a race between two buses. Eyewitnesses claimed that two buses on route 215A were racing recklessly when one of them hit a scooter around 10.30 am. The student died on the spot. The accident caused tension in the area. Local people protested with the body of the student on the road and blamed the police for negligence to control the traffic violation.

Previously, a Class I student had died in Behala after being crushed by a truck, and recently, a Class IX student lost their life in Bansdroni after being hit by a pay loader. Allegations about police oversight were raised after these incidents, and the Salt Lake incident has again brought this issue into question.

Local sources said that after school, the mother was driving a scooter with her two sons from Kestopur, when the two buses, engaged in a race, hit their scooter. All three in the scooter were thrown off, resulting in the death of one student. The mother and brother of the deceased are currently hospitalised in critical condition. The deceased child’s name was Ayush Paik, a Class IV student at a private school in Kestopur. Following the incident, enraged locals blocked the road, criticising the lack of police vigilance. Police arrived at the scene to handle the situation. Locals claim that civic volunteers in the area do not do their jobs; they just sit around on their phones and do not monitor traffic properly. An eyewitness said, “When the bus hit them, no police officer came to their rescue. It was the police’s duty to call an ambulance and get them to a hospital quickly. Instead, they were chasing the bus.”

Human rights activist Krishnendu Goswami said the number of vehicles on the roads are on the rise, whereas traffic management by police is not commensurate. “Such incidents of deaths of school kids are unpardonable crimes. These bus drivers engage in road rage undeterred as they know they could easily escape punishment. Poor traffic management in such areas is responsible for these deaths,” said Mr Goswami.