Bus set afire to protest death in accident

PATNA: An irate mob set ablaze a Hajipur-bound bus after it hit a Maxi van leading to the death of its driver near Dhanuki Mor under the Agamkuan police station on Tuesday.
Police said that the accident took place when the Hajipur-bound bus, Ramayan Travels, hit a Maxi van near the Dhanuki Mor. The driver of the van, Rajeshwar Das, a resident of Fatuha, died on the spot.Agitated over the death of the driver, locals set ablaze the bus right on the middle of the road. The driver and the cleaner of the bus, however, managed to escape from the spot.
On getting information, the local police reached the spot with two fire-fighting vehicles which doused the flames. Movement of vehicles on the Mahatma Gandhi Setu remained disturbed for over two hours due to the mishap.
Agamkuan police station SHO P K Jha said that an FIR had been lodged against the bus driver and some locals for setting ablaze the vehicle.
Three rescued: Police late on Monday night rescued three labourers while they were being kidnapped and taken to Jehanabad from Paliganj in rural Patna.
Patna SSP Bachchu Singh Meena said that the local police trapped the abductors from two sides and rescued the labourers.
Paliganj SDPO Ashok Kumar said that Bachchu Khan and his two sons Siraj Khan and Meraj Khan worked as masons at Raghunathpur High School in Paliganj. Earlier, they had worked with a contractor, Bhola Sharma, at Nowama in Jehanabad and later left working with him, Kumar said that added that this agitated the contractor, who has criminal antecedents.
The SDPO said that late on Monday night, Bhola along with his four associates reached Paliganj and kidnapped Khan and his two sons. He said that when the local police came to know about the incident, they rescued the three labourers. Bhola Sharma along with his four associates have been arrested, the SDPO added.
Arrest: The Agamkuan police arrested three persons identified as Chotu, Rakesh and Sajid from Dhanuki Mor and recovered two country-made pistols and three cartridges from their possession.