One person on a scooter was crushed to death allegedly by a speeding private luxury bus in Ropar, Punjab
A speeding private luxury bus, said to belong to a company owned by the ruling Badal family, allegedly ran over a scooterist on the Chandigarh-Manali national highway in Ropar on Thursday. The area witnessed angry protests over the death, with locals sitting on the accident site with body.
According to eye witnesses, the bus was travelling at a very high speed when it overtook a car from the wrong side. The bus hit the scooter, killing the rider on the spot. The car hit a divider while trying to avoid a collision with the bus, and fell into a nullah.
"Instead of stopping, the bus driver drove off," said eye witness Jagtar Singh.
The opposition Congress has alleged that the bus belongs to a transport company owned by the Badal family, and police is shielding the bus driver. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of the Akali Dal and his family, the party said, co-own the Dabwali Transport Company, to which the bus belongs.
The police have claimed that the scooter was hit by the car and bus had no role in the accident. They have booked the driver of the car, Brahm Prakash Sharma, for causing "death by negligence".
"My brother is being pressurised by the police to confess a crime he hasn't committed...looks like the police are under some sort of political pressure," said Pawan Sharma, the brother of car driver.
Congress lawmaker Kuljit Singh Nagra told NDTV, "The local administration and the police were informed within 10 minutes, but the bus was not stopped till it reached its destination of Amritsar. It is murder and the administration is totally biased."
In May this year, the Badals were severely criticised after the death of a teenager, who was molested and shoved off a running bus in Moga. The bus was owned by Orbit Aviation, a company co-owned by the Badal family.