Two Madhyamik students were killed on their way to the exam centre when the scooty they were riding on was hit by a bus on National Highway 34 in Debagram under Kaligunj police station area in Nadia district on Monday. The accident triggered protests by angry locals who attacked policemen, injuring ten of them. Police sources said the Class X students, Nazima Khatoon and Masuda Khatoon, of Panighata Umadas Smriti Higher Secondary School were going to their exam centre on a scooty. While the girls, residents of Mirzapur, were riding pillion, their relative Saidul Sheikh was driving the two-wheeler.
The bus, which was on its way to Kolkata, suddenly hit the scooty from behind, following which the girls fell on the road and were run over by the bus, they added. Irate locals then blocked the highway and started pelting the police with stones. “The mob also stopped police from taking the bodies for postmortem,” said a police officer.
Police used lathicharge to disperse the mob and arrested seven persons in this connection. Locals alleged vehicles in the area often drive recklessly, causing such accidents, and demanded a permanent solution. The bus driver was arrested and the vehicle seized, the police officer said.