A government bus driver who got off the bus to confront a private bus driver on BT Road on Friday was run over and killed when the other driver tried to flee, police said.
The accident occurred near Chiria More in north Calcutta on the Dunlop-bound flank of BT Road in the afternoon.
Both buses on route 78 (Barrackpore-Aurobindo Sarani- Barrackpore) were moving in the same direction when the private bus apparently grazed and broke the government bus’s right rear-view mirror while overtaking it.
“The government bus then overtook the private bus from the right and blocked its way before the driver got off to confront the other driver. He demanded an explanation why the private bus driver had broken his rear-view mirror,” a traffic police officer of the fatal squad said. “They had a heated argument... the private bus driver tried to flee and pressed on the accelerator.”
The bus tried to negotiate past the state bus when the state bus driver came under its wheels, the police said. He was declared dead at RG Kar hospital.
The private bus driver was arrested on the spot. He has been booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. He knew the consequences of his rash driving, an officer of Cossipore police station said.
Both buses have been seized.
Building blaze
A fire broke out in a multi-storey building on Ganesh Chandra Avenue on Friday night, leaving several residents injured while they tried to scamper out.
Eyewitnesses said a child was severely injured when he jumped out of a first-floor balcony of the building — 21 Ganesh Chandra Avenue — and had to be rushed to hospital. Police said the fire was detected around 10.15pm.
Fire officials said the blaze possibly started from the meter room. Till midnight, at least 10 fire tenders were fighting to control the blaze.