One of the private buses involved in the crash on VIP Road on Friday. Picture by Soumen Bhattacharjee

A private bus rammed into another on VIP Road on Friday morning while trying to overtake it after trapping an autorickshaw with three passengers in between. Five people were injured.

According to witnesses, the bus plying on route 221 (from Gol Park to Nagerbazar) tried to overtake the other bus, which was stationary, at the same time as the autorickshaw. The driver lost control, grazed the auto and slammed into the bus at rest, which was plying on route 44 (Howrah to Baguiati).

Hari Rajbanshi, the driver of the three-wheeler, said: “I was trying to overtake the bus on route 44 after it stopped suddenly, when another bus hit my auto from behind. As it rammed into the stationary bus, my vehicle overturned. The three passengers fell on the ground.”

Two of the passengers, Rita Shaw and Rohit Ghosh, had to be admitted to a local nursing home.

Both bus drivers fled after the mishap.

“The accident took place around 10.20am, after the buses had crossed the Sreebhumi stop,” said Subrata Sen, the officer-in-charge of Lake Town traffic guard.

Soumitra Baj, a first-year BA student who was on the back seat of the bus on route 44, said: “I and a few other passengers were thrown on the floor after the crash. When I regained consciousness I found myself in a nursing home.” He suffered injuries in the head.

“We have impounded both the buses and are looking for the drivers,” said Jibon Chakrabarty, the officer-in-charge of Lake Town police station.

On Thursday, passengers of two racing private buses had forced them to a stop at Lake Town.