A government bus on Tuesday hit a scooterist, dragged him up to 500 meters while he was stuck between the wheel and the bumper and shouting for help until he succumbed to injuries within a few seconds.

The incident occurred in full view of the local people on a busy road in Durgapur town around 10am on Tuesday.

The deceased was later identified as Shyamal Pramanik, 43, a resident of Faridpur in the town. He was going to a factory in nearby Angadhpur where he was a contractor worker.

Sources said the bus was plying without a valid fitness certificate, insurance or pollution under control certificates.

Residents said they alerted the driver of the SBSTC bus immediately after they saw the man stuck between the wheel and the bumper and shouting for help but it was not stopped.

"We were shouting at the driver asking him to stop but he drove it away fast and entered the nearby depot. The deceased was stuck between the front wheel and the bumper of the bus. He was crying out for help. It was a terrible incident," said a local youth.

Local residents later went to the SBSTC depot and staged a demonstration. They also blocked the road connecting Durgapur railway station with the rest of the areas of the town demanding the immediate arrest of the driver and compensation to the deceased family members.

"If the driver stopped the bus immediately after the incident, the man may not have died. We want the immediate arrest of the driver," said the youth.

The protesters also vandalised the office of the depot where the driver was hiding.

The agitation was withdrawn after police arrested the driver and the chairman of the SBSTC and Trinamul MLA Subhash Mondal promised to provide proper compensation.

"Any death is unfortunate. The police have arrested the accused driver and started an investigation into whether he was drunk at the time of driving. We will provide all necessary help to the deceased's family members," said Subhash Mondal, chairman of SBSTC.