A factory worker was killed after his scooter collided with an electric bus at Ambedkar Chowk in the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) on 150 Feet Ring Road in Rajkot late Monday night.
A mob assembled at the site soon after the accident and vandalised the bus. They were dispersed by the police and the bus driver was arrested.
The Malaviyanagar police said the incident took place at around 10 pm Monday when the victim, Dinesh alias Rutwik Dafda (23), and his friend Vishal Vaghela (23) were on their way back to Ambedkarnagar after purchasing a packed meal from Mavdi Chowkadi. Police said Dafda’s scooter rammed the e-bus on the BRTS corridor at Ambedkar Chowk. While Dafda was seriously injured, Vaghela, who was riding a pillion, sustained minor injuries.
Dafda, a resident of Ambedkarnagar, was rushed to a civil hospital where he succumbed to his injuries at around 2 am Tuesday. Soon, a mob vandalised the bus by pelting stones, police said. “We have arrested the bus driver after booking him under IPC Section 304A (causing death by negligence) and rash driving,” Malaviyanagar police inspector KN Bhukan said. The driver has been identified as Prakash Musadiya.
Rajkot Rajpath Limited, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC), runs the BRTS services.
Dafda used to work in a local factory. “Dafda and his friend Vaghela, who is also a resident of Ambedkarnagar, had borrowed the scooter from their friend Sagar to get the meal for the trio,” Malaviyanagar police sub-inspector BB Vala, who is investigating the case, said.
Meanwhile, police said that based on a cross-complaint filed by the bus driver, Vaghela and Sagar have been booked for damaging public property and they, too, have been arrested. “The bus driver, Sagar and Vaghela have been arrested and are currently in police custody,” said Rana.
