A mob set a bus on fire at the Bypass roundabout on Tuesday afternoon after asking its passengers to get down, as it hit a cyclist.

The 35-year-old cyclist, Ram Kumar, is nursing his injuries at Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH). He is in a critical condition.

The bus driver has been arrested. The conductor managed to dodge the mob and cops.

Kumar, an electrician living in Bihta, was cycling along the Bypass Road around 12noon when the speeding bus — Hawa-Hawai plying on the Nawada-Patna route — hit him from the front in the jurisdiction of Jakkanpur police.

“The bus came to a grinding halt after hitting the cyclist. Within minutes, a huge crowd gathered at the spot and intercepted the driver while he was trying to flee. Sensing trouble, most of the passengers came out of the bus. The angry people ordered the rest to get down. After all the passengers alighted, the mob smashed the vehicle’s windscreen and the windows. Thereafter, it was set on fire,” an officer at Jakkanpur police station said.

Learning that a bus was set on fire a few metres away from Mithapur bus stand, cops from Jakkanpur police station rushed to the spot.

“The angry people were still there and we somehow managed to pacify them. The fire brigade was called and the flames were doused. The driver has been arrested for negligent driving. But he did not appear to be inebriated. The police are looking for the bus conductor,” the officer said.