Kolkata: A 37-year-old woman waiting at a bus stop near Howrah bridge was killed and several others there escaped by a whisker after the brakes of a govt AC bus reportedly failed on Friday evening.
Gita Das, a resident of Judges Court Road in Alipore, was taken to Medical College and Hospital, where she was declared dead.
Cops said the AC-54 bus, which had left Howrah station for Rathtala, was about to take a turn towards Posta, when the driver realised the brakes were not working.“He started honking and people waiting at a bus stop near the Brabourne Road flyover scampered to safety. But Gita failed to move away and was hit by the bus,” said a senior officer from the Howrah Bridge Traffic Guard. “The woman was taken to MCH, but she died soon after. Though she had no external injuries, she suffered internal haemorrhage, doctors stated.”
Police are scanning CCTV footage to check the sequence of events. “We are sending the bus for a mechanical test. The driver’s claim of a brake failure seems correct,” said an officer.