By IANS
New Delhi : A speeding Blueline bus Monday mowed down a young woman in Bawana, northwest Delhi, taking to 105 the toll of victims of the capital’s notorious ‘killer fleet’.
Pearl Gupta, a first year student of Aditi College, was killed when the bus, plying on Route No 106 between Bawana and Delhi railway station, ran over her outside the college at around 11.25 a.m.
Police said Pearl, her classmate Parul and their friend were getting down from a Delhi Transport Corp (DTC) bus at a stand near their college when a rider speeding on a motorcycle hit them.
While the other two fell on the pavement, Pearl fell on the road and was run over by the Blueline bus whose driver could not stop on time.
All three were rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared Pearl brought dead. Parul and her unidentified friend were recuperating from minor injuries, police said.
After the accident about 500 infuriated students smashed the windows of the bus before police stopped them. The driver, however, managed to flee the spot.
The students also blocked traffic on the road for at least one hour.
Pearl was this year’s 105th victim of the capital’s privately operated Blueline buses that have earned notoriety for being driven rashly.
“How many people does the government want to be killed under the wheels of these killer buses?” asked the victim’s father S.K Gupta.
“Please take them (Blueline buses) off the roads immediately,” a teary-eyed Gupta pleaded with folded hands.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Outer Delhi) Sagar Preet Hooda told IANS that police teams had been sent to arrest the bus driver.
Over 4,000 Blueline buses, forming a crucial part of Delhi’s public transport system, have left more than 160 people injured this year so far even as authorities plan to phase them out and introduce a more professionally-run service.
In a separate incident 12 passengers of a Haryana Roadways bus suffered serious injuries after a truck collided with it in Mukundpur, north Delhi, early Monday.
Police said the accident occurred when a speeding truck hit the bus from behind — probably due to fog. The bus was carrying at least 30 passengers. The truck driver was absconding.
Eight of the injured were admitted to the nearby Babu Jagjivan Ram Hospital, while the other four were rushed to the Trauma Centre.