The driver in the hospital. Picture by Nityananda Sarkar

Raiganj, May 27: The driver of a North Bengal State Transport Corporation (NBSTC) bus had to be hospitalised with a fractured hip after he was beaten up by passengers.

The incident reportedly occurred around 5.30 am today, when passengers of a Siliguri-bound bus from Asansol were held up at an NBSTC depot here following a break-down of the vehicle. Two passengers have been arrested, police said.

The injured driver, Sudhin Bagchi, said he was driving on the Kaliaganj-Dinhata (Cooch Behar) route and Raiganj was a stopover. “As I drove into the terminus in the morning, I saw a group of passengers demonstrating. They had gheraoed the office and were not allowing any bus to leave the depot,” Bagchi said. “As soon as I started the bus, they dragged me out of the vehicle and beat me up with iron rods. I was finally rescued by tea stall owners.”

According to a source, the bus from Asansol arrived at the depot at 5 am with a mechanical failure. “When the passengers learnt that the repair would take some time, they demanded that they be provided with another vehicle,” the source said.

“The passengers went to the enquiry counter and started shouting,” an employee at the terminus said. “The group decided not to allow any vehicle to leave the depot till they were provided with an alternative bus to Siliguri.” Two buses — one bound for Alipurduar and the other for Siliguri — were reportedly kept confined to the terminus.

Bimal Das, a tea-stall owner, said the passengers from Asansol started demonstrating a little after they reached the depot. “Suddenly, we heard someone shout for help. Alarmed, a few of us, along with some security guards, rushed to the spot and found Bagchi being beaten up. We attacked the assaulters with lathis, chasing most of them away. Two were handed over to the police,” Das said. “Bagchi has been admitted to the North Dinajpur district hospital.”

An alternative bus to Siliguri was later provided at 7 am, a source said. “Most of the passengers had run away by then. Only a few took the new bus,” the source added.