Racing bus claims life of 15-yr-old boy cycling to school on BT Road
Times of India | 29 November 2025
Kolkata: A 15-year-old boy lost his life in an accident at CIT crossing on BT Road while on his way to school on Friday. Aranya Chakraborty, son of a Cossipore Gun and Shell factory employee, was a class 9 student at a Cossipore-based private English-medium school. He was an only child.
The accident was reported a little before 11 am at a spot less than 500 m from Rabindra Bharati University.
The victim was travelling on his bicycle to school from his residence at Cossipore — a part of his daily routine — and had reached a local petrol pump on the Shyambazar-bound flank of BT Road when he was hit by a bus on route 234 (Belgharia-Golf Green).
"We are ascertaining how the accident took place, especially since both were moving in the same direction," said a traffic DCP.
There are two versions of the accident. According to locals and the teenager's parents, Samiran and Kasturi, the bus was racing with a bus on route 230 (Kamarhati-Alipore zoo) and speeding towards Shyambazar. "The student was riding at the extreme left. He barely stopped to check what was roaring behind him when the bus on route 234 tried to overtake the other from the wrong side and hit him. The impact was such that the cycle fell on one side and the victim on the other," said Ramapada Banik, a local who witnessed the accident.
Aranya was taken to a private nursing home next to the accident spot, and then to RG Kar Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
The Shyambazar Traffic Guard claimed that the bus on route 234 was coming out of a petrol pump after spotting another bus on the same alignment, and went on to hit the cyclist who believed he could cross over before the bus.
Police sources revealed the deceased teenager was hurrying to school as he got caught in a traffic jam earlier.
Following the incident, locals blocked BT Road in Cossipore in protest. Some questioned the traffic police's oversight while a section of locals alleged that pedestrian lives are lost due to the reckless competition among buses. A larger police force reached the spot within 10 minutes and removed the bus. Traffic resumed on the road eventually.
Police sources said that the bus driver claimed he was not aware that the school student was present at the spot. "He has been driving the bus for a considerable time. He claimed that he tried to flee from the spot with the bus for the safety of his passengers," an officer said.
"We have been requesting all buses to maintain lanes and follow discipline. If required, a drive will be carried out on BT Road," an officer said.