The driver who was beaten up. Picture by Sudip Acharya

Calcutta, April 8: A bus that was racing another was today forced to stop by the angry passengers, who dragged the driver and two conductors out and beat them up.

The 79D had brushed against a minibus as they raced down a crowded VIP Road near the Lake Town footbridge, about 1.5km from the spot where a 217B had plunged into the Lower Bagjola Canal on Friday.

The Airport-BBD Bag mini sped off after the impact, which occurred around 12.30pm, but the 40-odd passengers of the 79D erupted inside the bus.

“The two buses had begun racing from the Kestopur crossing (near the site of Friday’s accident, whose toll rose to 21 today with the death of an injured),” said Animesh Ghosh Dastider, who had boarded the Madhyamgram-Babughat bus at the Joramandir stop.

“Many of us shouted at the driver and the conductors to slow down, but they ignored us. But when the bus rammed the minibus from the sides with a huge bang, the passengers reacted violently.”

Their threats frightened driver Rabi Ghosh into pulling up by the side of the road. The passengers dragged Ghosh and conductors Raju Sardar and Ismail out and began raining blows, said Ghosh Dastider, an electricals trader.

Chhabi Kundu, a bystander, said: “I was waiting near the footbridge. Suddenly, I saw two buses coming down from the Kestopur end at great speed. As I stepped aside, I saw them knock against each other. Within minutes, around 20-25 people had pounced on the driver and the conductors.”

With the passengers crowding round the bus, traffic slowed down on the busy stretch. Soon, a team from the Lake Town traffic police guard — around 30 feet from where the buses had collided — arrived on the scene.

“We rescued the driver and the conductors,” said Subrata Sen, officer-in-charge, Lake Town police station.

Ghosh has told the police he had kept well within the VIP Road speed limit of 40kmph. “He said the collision took place because another bus tried to overtake him from the right, forcing him to swerve left (towards the minibus),” an officer said.

“Eyewitnesses said the driver was speeding and had jumped a signal. We fined him Rs 2,100 for rash driving. The three were released in the evening,” said Subhankar Bhattacharya, sub-divisional police officer, Bidhannagar.

The driver will not be prosecuted.