By IANS
New Delhi : A Blueline bus racing against another bus ran over three people on a pavement, killing one and seriously injuring the other two, early Saturday.
The incident took place near Sangam cinema theatre in southwest Delhi’s R.K. Puram area at around 6.15 a.m. According to police, the bus on Route 621 was being driven by the helper and he was racing with another Blueline bus on the same route.
There was no passenger in the bus at the time of the accident.
The three victims were employees of a juice shop in the area and slept on the pavement in front of the shop. They were preparing to get up for the day when the speeding bus swerved on to the pavement, hitting them.
The man driving the bus ran away after the incident.
“Our employees were getting out of their beds at the time of the accident,” said Mohammad Sajib, the shop owner.
Lalan, 20, from Behraich in Uttar Pradesh, was killed. Jumai, 30, and Chhotu, 25 — also from Behraich — were seriously injured. They had been working in the shop for a few years, said Sunil Kumar Jaiswal, a fellow worker.
The three were taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), where Lalan was declared brought dead. The other two have suffered multiple injuries, said a police official.
This is the second fatal accident in the capital since Friday evening.
Saturday’s death takes the number of fatalities involving Blueline buses to 103 this year.
The incident sparked angry reaction from locals. People used sticks and stones to shatter the windowpanes of the killer bus and other buses passing by.
Police said as the violence spread, the normally busy road was blocked for traffic for about two hours. A large number of policemen were moved to the area to bring the situation under control.
The family members of the three have been informed about the accident, police said.
Some three hours later, a state-run Delhi Transport Corp bus killed a young man at Madanpur Khadar in south Delhi.