Two persons, including a minor, were killed when a private bus rammed into an e-rickshaw and the waiting area of a bus station at Islampur in North Dinajpur district on Saturday afternoon.

The crash that injured 14 others was attributed to a fight between the drivers of two private buses which were competing for more passengers.

“I have learned that the accident happened because of a competition among bus drivers to get more passengers. The drivers of two buses entered into an altercation at the Islampur bus stand this afternoon. One of the drivers broke the window of the other’s bus,” said Kanaialal Agarwala, the chairman of Islampur municipality.

After breaking the window, the attacker tried to speed away his bus.

“The driver of the damaged bus jumped onto the other bus and turned the steering wheel. The one in the driving seat lost control. The bus veered off the road and ploughed into an e-rickshaw and the waiting area of the bus stand,” said Agarwala.

Local people said the e-rickshaw had four to five people in it, and an equal number were in the waiting area.

“It happened in front of my eyes. I narrowly escaped the accident as the bus came straight towards the waiting area,” said Moloylal Thakur, who runs a shop nearby.

Fire brigade personnel and police reached the spot. They rescued the injured and rushed them to the Islampur sub-divisional hospital. Shambhu Biswas, 22, a resident of Nandajhar, on the outskirts of the Islampur town, and Soma Mondal, a six-year-old girl from the Netajipally-Mathpara area of Islampur, died on the spot.

“It is not clear whether the deceased were in the e-rickshaw or standing in the
waiting area. We have seized both the buses. Our officers are investigating the case,” said Dendup Sherpa, the additional superintendent of police of the Islampur police district.

Some of the injured were the passengers of the bus involved in the crash that occurred around 3pm.

Agarwala and Islampur subdivisional officer Priya Yadav visited the spot.

“We will take action against those responsible for the accident. Measures will be taken to avert such mishaps in future,” said Yadav.

After the accident, a section of local people raised a blockade on the arterial
road in Islampur. Vehicles travelled along NH27, which skirts the town, because of the protest.