A police officer died after the jeep he was travelling in was hit by a speeding bus on Jessore Road, near the airport, on Tuesday evening.

The jeep driver and two others travelling with Manas Sarkar, an assistant sub-inspector of Bidhannagar (North) police station, were injured.

The stretch where the mishap occurred has witnessed four deaths this year. Local residents alleged that the lone traffic light there does not function and policemen are rarely deployed to regulate vehicles.

Sarkar, 42, was on his way to Bidhannagar (North) police station after completing some official work in Barasat when he met with the accident. The jeep was plying down the eastern flank of Jessore Road.

In Bankra, near airport gate No. 2, a Baduria-bound bus from Shyambazar was passing by along the western flank. A pedestrian suddenly appeared in front of the bus and the driver, instead of slowing down, veered to the right and rammed into the jeep.

Sarkar, sitting beside the driver, bore the brunt of the collision and was left in a pool of blood. The driver and the other two were thrown off some distance. All four were taken to a local hospital, where Sarkar was declared dead on arrival.

“The bus has been impounded and the driver charged with rash and negligent driving. We are also trying to trace the pedestrian who came in front of the bus,” said an officer of airport police station.

Immediately after the accident, a 100-plus crowd blocked Jessore Road, demanding steps against rash driving. The blockade continued for an hour and was lifted after the police arrived.

A senior officer said the volume of traffic on the stretch has increased manifold following the commissioning of a flyover linking Dakshineswar with Jessore Road. “The traffic management system has to be upgraded and more cops need to be on the road to regulate vehicles,” he stressed.