The city bus involved in the accident at Saheed Nagar police station and the two injured boys — Sunoj Mahalik and (right) Soubhagya Ranjan Sahu. Pictures by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 1: Driving a motorcycle for which he did not have a valid licence and not wearing a helmet proved fatal for a teenage boy today.

Rudra Madhav Barik, 16, of Prashanti Vihar Housing Board Colony in Patia was killed when the motorcycle collided with a city bus near a hotel in Jayadev Vihar.

Rudra had just been to his sister’s place to observe raksha bandhan and was going towards the city when the accident occurred.

He was riding the bike with two of his friends, both of whom were riding pillion. Rudra’s friends — Soubhagya Ranjan Sahu, 17, of Prashanti Vihar, and Sunoj Mahalik, 16, of Patia — were injured in the mishap. Rudra did not have a valid licence.

When the bus hit their motorbike, all three were thrown off it.

Rudra’s head hit the road divider, which proved fatal for him, as he was not wearing a helmet. The other two escaped with minor injuries. Doctors at Capital Hospital pronounced Rudra brought dead.

After the accident, a crowd of irate local residents gathered at the spot. Police officers from the traffic police station managed to disperse the mob. Later, Saheed Nagar police impounded the bus and arrested the driver.

Soubhagya, who claimed to be the owner of the motorbike, said Rudra had asked to drive the vehicle.

“Though I was initially hesitant, I finally gave my motorcycle to him. He was trying to evade a bull on the road when the city bus rammed into the bike from behind,” he said.

Eyewitnesses said the boys were driving fast and trying to overtake a city bus from the wrong side.

Father of the deceased Dhaneswar Barik said Rudra was the older of his two sons and had gone to his sister’s place to observe raksha bandhan.

Such incidents appear to be on the rise in the city.

On March 22, eight students of a private English medium school were detained by the traffic police for driving recklessly without valid licences and later let off with warnings and a fine.

The police had informed their parents and school authorities and instructed them not to let their wards drive vehicles without licences.

A senior police officer said they had been imposing fines on minors found driving two-wheelers without licences.

“We fine them and inform their parents who are asked to give us an undertaking. We have also been writing to various schools and junior colleges not allow their students to bring their vehicles to their place of study unless they have driving licences,” said additional deputy commissioner of police Nirmal Satpathy.

He said parents should be more careful as the lives of their wards were at stake.