A speeding bus knocked down a 72-year-old woman in Kidderpore on Tuesday morning, triggering mob fury that disrupted traffic for two hours.

Meera Ghosh, a resident of Monilal Banerjee Road in Kidderpore, was trying to cross Karl Marx Sarani near Fancy Market around 10.30am when a bus on route 12C/1 hit her from the right side.

Witnesses said the woman was flung in the air and landed some 20 metres away.

Sarfaraz Jawed, 42, who runs a tea stall near the accident site, said the bus had entered a no-entry zone. “The woman was caught off-guard when she saw the bus racing towards her. Even before she could react, the bus dashed her.”

The driver fled. Police said Ghosh suffered severe head injuries and was declared dead at SSKM Hospital.

Around 200 residents and shop-owners took to the streets and vandalised the killer vehicle and another bus on route 37 that stood behind it. The mob blocked traffic at the four-point crossing for two hours. A large police force was deployed in the area and the cops had to resort to lathicharge to control the situation.