Protestors had blocked the national highway in Ropar after the death of one person in a road accident
24 hours after a scooterist died in a road accident on the Chandigarh-Manali national highway in Punjab, the state police has bowed to public pressure.
On Thursday, the police had said the scooterist died after an accident with a car, but after protests from locals, who claim the scooterist died after he was run over a bus, the police has added the name of the bus driver to its first information report of FIR.
A speeding private luxury bus, said to belong to a company owned by the ruling Badal family, allegedly ran over the scooterist, Swaran Singh, in Ropar on Thursday. The area, about 45 km from Chandigarh, witnessed angry protests over the death, with locals sitting on the accident site with the dead body.
The protest was called off after the state government agreed to a compensation of Rs 22.50 lakh to the family of the victim.
The opposition Congress has alleged that the 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.
But the police maintain that the scooter was hit by a car and the bus had no role in the accident.
"It's a clear accident between scooter and a car... There is a dent on car at 80 cm. Also paint flakes transferred to each other. The dents match point to point on both car and scooter," said Director General of Police SS Saini.
The police had booked the driver of the car, Brahm Prakash Sharma, for causing "death by negligence". They have now added the name of the bus driver to the First Information Report (FIR).
The government has also assured the family of the victim that a Special Investigation Team will probe the incident and submit a report within a week.
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.