Locals incensed at the death of a schoolgirl in an accident on a national highway in Jalpaiguri torched three buses and ransacked two others on Saturday.

The protesters, who held up traffic for around two hours, alleged that vehicles, especially buses, often drove recklessly on the stretch of NH27.

Around 8.30 on Saturday morning, Trisha Chakraborty, 16, a Class XII student of Rabindranath Higher Secondary School, had been travelling to her tuition class on her brother’s Scooty when a North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) bus hit the two-wheeler from behind.

Trisha, who was riding pillion, was crushed under the wheels of the bus and died on the spot. Her brother, Rishop, suffered fractures in his hands.

Traffic had been stopped at the Mohit Nagar rail gate. “I was threading my way slowly through a small space on the side of the road when the NBSTC bus suddenly left the queue and began overtaking stationery vehicles. The bus knocked down my Scooty,” Rishop said.

Moments after the accident, angry locals went on a rampage. “Three of our buses were torched and two ransacked,” said Swapan Sen, the Jalpaiguri NBSTC depot in-charge.

Two fire tenders rushed to the spot, as did a large continent of policemen. Four persons have been arrested.

“The buses are always in a rat race and they often violate traffic rules. Just a few days ago, a pedestrian suffered injuries. Unless stern measure are taken such incidents are bound to take place,” said Koustov Bagchi, a resident.