SATURDAY NIGHT HORROR ON VIP ROAD  

A cyclist was killed and two people were injured on VIP Road on Saturday evening when a government bus rammed into a private bus, which lurched forward and hit an Ola cab that dashed against another private bus.

Police said the brakes of the Calcutta Tramways Company bus on the Tollygunge-Barasat route failed when the driver tried to stop on the airport-bound flank at the Kestopur bus stop to pick up passengers around 7.30pm.

As the CTC bus hit the private bus, it rammed into the app cab ahead of it and swerved right and hit a cyclist who was passing by, a sergeant posted at Kestopur said.

Nimai Bala, 30, died on the spot while another person riding with him sustained injuries, the officer said.

"The cyclist banged his head against a concrete slab," Gopal Shil who was present on the spot said.

Shankar Kumar Prajapati, 50, who was driving the Ola cab, said he heard a loud thud and before he could understand what happened his car had rammed into the private bus ahead of him.

"As my cab hit against the bus, my head banged against the steering. I almost blacked out as I felt a searing pain," he said.

Officers of Baguiati police station have slapped a case of rash and negligent driving against the driver of the CTC bus. He was detained for sometime before being allowed to go.

"The driver claimed a mechanical failure resulted in the accident. The bus will be sent for a mechanical test," an officer said.

Some of the passengers of the CTC bus were injured as well, he said.

Fatal accidents have become commonplace on city roads. At least 20 people have died in the city over the past fortnight.

Saturday's pile-up brought to the fore yet again how people flout rules.

Cycling is banned on VIP Road; yet Bala, the person who died, was doing just that.

If the claim that brake failure resulted in the accident is true, it shows how poorly maintained government buses are.

When Metro visited the spot immediately after the accident, autos were parked haphazardly and buses stopped in the middle of the road to pick up passengers. And in the midst of all that people jaywalked as cops looked the other way.

Saturday's four-vehicle pile-up led to snarls that stretched for more than a kilometre.

Debaleena Chakraborty, 24, said she was headed to a friend's place near the airport. "I have been stuck on VIP Road multiple times tonight. It took me more than 40 minutes to reach the start of the flyover at Dum Dum Park from Lake Town," she said.

Cops have seized the three buses and the app cab involved in the pile-up.