A man aged around 45 years was critically injured when he fell off an overcrowded city bus near Dangratoli Chowk in Lower Bazar thana area, Ranchi, on Wednesday morning.

A rear wheel of the same bus ran over his legs.

Identified as Baijnath Prasad of Kantatoli, he has been admitted to RIMS in Bariatu.

A decision on his legs, depending on the severity of the injury, will be taken on Thursday by senior orthopaedics.

"Prasad was possibly standing on the footboard of a city bus and fell down after the driver applied brakes suddenly. Both his legs came under one of the rear wheels of the bus," said Lower Bazar thana sub-inspector Mohan Kumar.

The accident took place between 8am and 8.30am after which the driver and conductor abandoned their bus and fled. After half an hour, a police patrol van took the unconscious, bleeding victim to Sadar Hospital located about 3km away, from where he was sent to RIMS. The police seized the bus.

Vehicle strike

Most auto-rickshaws and e-rickshaws in Ranchi went on an indefinite strike on Wednesday to protest alleged irregularities by Ranchi Municipal Corporation and Ranchi traffic SP in issuing road permits, forcing commuters to board city buses or seek lifts from private vehicle owners.

"There are over 2,300 registered auto-rickshaws and 800 e-rickshaws in capital Ranchi. How can a city-based auto-rickshaw driver be asked to ply in rural areas of Ranchi district? Plus, penalty for flouting new route permit is Rs 25,000. This is atrocious," said Dinesh Soni, president of Union Sangharsh Morcha, a confederation of many auto-rickshaw and e-rickshaw unions.