(Top) The broken windowpanes of the vandalised DPS bus; (bottom) Rukiya Bibi mourns the death of son Rakibul. The boy, whose death sparked the mob fury, was the son of a cycle van puller. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

Calcutta, Dec. 4: A mob vandalised two security booths and a bus of the Delhi Public School in Rajarhat this morning after a half-filled giant water drum, being ferried to the school on a cycle van, fell on an eight-year-old boy and killed him.

The mob fury forced the Delhi Public School (DPS), Megacity, to cancel its annual sports meet and declare a holiday.

Around 7.30 this morning, Rakibul Islam Mollah, a local boy, was crushed to death when the plastic water drum landed on him after the cycle van carrying it toppled over on a bumpy and damaged road in front of the school, said Arun Kumar Mittal, an eyewitness.

More than 50 local people first blocked the Bhangar-Rajarhat road and then descended on the school. They blamed the school for the road’s condition, claiming most of the traffic on the route was made up by vehicles ferrying students and teachers to and from the institute.

DPS security guards said the mob threw bricks and stones at the school. “They broke the glass windows of the two security booths on the compound,” a guard said, adding that the mob also broke the windowpanes of a school bus parked inside the compound.

Not many students had arrived at the time of the attack, which went on for an hour, the guards said. A team from Rajarhat police station, 8km away, arrived and dispersed the mob.

After the protesters left, the police escorted the trapped students out of the school. Most of the students were sent home on school buses while the rest were taken home by their parents. Many students who were headed for DPS on school buses and private cars were turned back by the police from Rajarhat Expressway.

Local people said they had repeatedly requested the school to repair the road but it had all “fallen on deaf ears”. A resident said the school authorities were “not willing to own any responsibility for the accident”.

The school authorities, however, said it was the job of the Trinamul Congress-run Rajarhat-Bishnupur gram panchayat to repair the road.

The school spokesperson said: “For the past three years, we have been requesting the local panchayat to improve the condition of the road but to no avail.”

Gram panchayat pradhan Mannan Gazi claimed the CPM-run zilla parishad was supposed to repair the road under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana. “But the zilla parishad has not done so despite several reminders.”

Bharat Das, the zilla parishad sabhadhipati, said it was not possible to carry out development in the area as Trinamul “never attends” meetings to discuss projects.

The same blame game played out over the water drum too. Apparently, the drum was being used to sprinkle water on the road ---- while being ferried to and from the school on the cycle van --- so it did not get too dusty.

A DPS source appeared to suggest the school had little role in the wetting of the road, saying the institute had merely “commissioned” the drums following a request from residents. “The local people told us to keep the road wet so the dust would not fly around when vehicles passed.”

The source said the local people “arranged” for the wetting of the road every day and the school merely paid for it. “We cannot be blamed for the accident,” he added.

DPS, Megacity, principal Indrani Sanyal refused comment. A police officer said a case of unnatural death had been registered. “The school authorities have lodged a complaint,” he added.

The police said the van operator was yet to be identified.