After fury,devotees lent helping hand

The bus,occupied by employees of a private company involved in the construction of tractors,was heading towards Kalka. All occupants fled after the crash,which happened in the presence of policemen managing traffic and directing the procession. They had no time to react when the bus arrived,and could do little thereafter when the mob went on the rampage,first smashing the windowpanes of the bus and then setting it on fire.

According to eyewitnesses,the traffic lights were not functional and only the blinkers were on. “When they scooter the lights point,they were signalled by the traffic police to wait. While they were waiting on the side of the road,the bus,coming from behind,hit the scooter and crushed them,” said a policemen.

The driver,Sunil Kumar,in his statement to the police,admitted that he had dozed off and could not see the people on the road.

Kuldeep Singh,42,of Sector 30,who works with the Posts department in Chandigarh,said,“For almost half an hour I was clueless about what had happened. More than worrying about the injuries I suffered,I was busy searching my family members.”

Singh suffered multiple injuries and was treated at Government Medical College Hospital (GMCH-32). The injured were treated and discharged from GMCH-32 and PGI.

“My wife,my two sons and I had joined the procession around 9:30 pm. When the procession reached Sector 28 petrol pump,we suddenly heard screams and something hit me from behind. I fell down on the road and my head started bleeding. It was a nightmare.” he said.

Sunil Kumar was booked on charges of causing death due to negligence. He had initially tired to mislead the police by calling himself the conductor of the bus. He was not drunk,the police said.

The police have registered a case of rioting against unknown persons for setting the bus afire. “We are yet to identify those responsible for damaging the bus,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police (East),Jaswant Singh Khaira.

“It all happened suddenly. The angry crowd went out of control and set the bus on fire,” said Jasdeep Singh,a Sector 7 based shopkeeper,who was in the procession. “Later,they cooled down and realised that the injured needed their help and thus started attending the injured.”