The bus that killed 15-year-old schoolboy Aranya Chakraborty on BT Road on Friday morning was being driven by a 20-year-old, police said.
Rumed Alam was arrested on Saturday in the Cossipore area and booked for rash and negligent driving causing death by negligence. He was later released on bail by the Sealdah court.
“Alam is 20 years old and has a valid driving licence,” a senior officer of Kolkata Traffic Police said. Senior officials said it was rare for a driver charged with causing death by negligence to be granted bail immediately. Alam’s Aadhaar card, a copy of which is with Metro, shows he was born on July 7, 2005.
A section of bus operators said Alam, a resident of Harischandrapur in Malda, initially worked as a helper on a private bus before learning to drive. Before driving the bus involved in the accident on route No. 234, he drove on route No. 230, which connects Kamarhati and the Alipore zoo.
On Friday, the bus hit Aranya while the boy was cycling to school. Route 234, from Belgharia in the north to Golf Green in the south, is one of the city’s longest and busiest bus routes, usually assigned to senior drivers with years of experience. Alam’s bus, registered on November 28, 2024, had been involved in at least 64 traffic rule violations in a year, operators said.
The Class IX student was hit between Rabindra Bharati University and Cossipore police station around 11am.
He was taken to RG Kar hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Aranya was the only son of Samiran and Kasturi Chakraborty of Sashi Bhushan Neogi Garden Lane in Baranagar.
Traffic on BT Road near Cossipore is chaotic, with buses, two-wheelers, cars, cycles and goods vehicles vying for space. Private schools, nursing homes, mela grounds, small eateries and rows of auto parts shops line the area. Friday’s accident occurred on the Shyambazar-bound flank.
“Several attempts to streamline pedestrian movement by installing guard rails have failed. Rails are either stolen or removed by shop owners for easier access. The number of crossover points makes this stretch particularly treacherous,” a senior Kolkata Police officer said.