The bus that was set ablaze. Picture by Eastern Projections

Dhubri/Alipurduar, Oct. 27: A bus carrying around 50 people was set ablaze early this morning in Assam’s Dhubri district — adjoining Bengal — allegedly by a group demanding a separate Kamtapur.

Twenty-two passengers suffered burns. Five of them were sriously injured.

The Assam State Transport Corporation bus, travelling from Cooch Behar to North Lakhimpur in Assam, was attacked on National Highway 31(C) at Golokganj, 21km from the Bengal border.

The All Koch Rajbongshi Students’ Union had called a 300-hour national highway blockade from October 17 demanding the new state and inclusion of Koch Rajbongshis in the list of Scheduled Tribes.

The arsonists placed a concrete pillar across the highway and hurled a bomb to force the bus to a stop.

Residents of nearby villages, alerted by the passengers’ screams, rescued them.

Two children and three women were among those seriously injured. Fourteen people have been admitted to a Cooch Behar hospital.

The driver and conductor were taken to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital.

“I smashed a windowpane to help a woman get out from the rear,” a Golokganj resident said.

Conductor Ajit Ghosh said: “Our driver saw a pillar on the road. As soon as the bus stopped, some young boys entered the bus, beat us up, poured kerosene and set the bus on fire.”

The police said the bus should not have been travelling without an escort.