Locals armed with sticks chasing away policemen in West Bengal's Murshidabad district.
Angry locals including youngsters wearing school uniforms in West Bengal's Murshidabad went on a rampage after a road accident on Friday. According to video footage, the mob also chased away police personnel rushed to control the situation. The police said several personnel were injured.
The incident took place on Friday afternoon in New Farrakka, around 300 km from Kolkata, on National Highway 34 which connects the state capital Kolkata to Malda and North Bengal through Murshidabad district.
The trigger was a road accident. A truck had hit a young girl, a Class 11 student and tried to speed away. Soon a mob gathered, damaged the truck and then went on set at least one government bus that came along on fire.
Dramatic video footage shows locals, some of them in school uniform carrying school bags attacking the police as the police tried lifting the blockade on the Highway. The police are seen running away as the mob armed with bamboo sticks chase them.
The footage also shows the mob vandalising buses and toppling police barricades. A little distance away, a state government-owned bus was also set on fire. Locals allege police regularly stop trucks in the area to collect bribes, and truckers put their lives to risk by driving dangerously.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had recently passed a new law to deal with arson and mob violence targeting government property but that seems to have no effect on vandals, in spite of her strict warning. There has been no official comment on the incident so far.