UP: Schoolboy dies after bus hits his cycle, locals stage protest

Sultanpur (UP), Sep 24 (PTI) A 14-year-old boy died while he was on his way to school on his bicycle after a private bus hit his cycle here on Tuesday, police said.

The driver and the conductor of the bus have been taken into custody, they said.

The incident, which occurred near Kamtaganj market in the Dostpur police station area, also triggered a protest by the locals, who vandalised the bus and briefly blocked a section of the Purvanchal Expressway, police said.

“The 14-year-old boy, Lavkush, was a student at Ramdev Inter College. He was cycling to school when he was hit by a bus coming from Jalalpur in the morning. Lavkush succumbed to his injuries on the spot,” a police official said.

The incident ignited anger among the locals, who broke the bus windows and blocked the road, taking the bus driver hostage in the process. They blocked the expressway and the road between Nempur and Dostpur villages, he said.

Local authorities, including SDM Uttam Tiwari, Police Circle Officer Vinay Gautam and police from Akhandnagar and Dostpur arrived promptly on the spot.

Locals said Lavkush’s family was already in a precarious situation, as his father, Ramdin, had passed away six months earlier due to illness, and his elder brother, Abhishek (17) has mental health issues.

His mother, Neetu, was inconsolable following the tragedy, they said.

SDM Uttam Tiwari said, “All possible assistance would be provided to the bereaved family.”

Circle Officer Vinay Gautam said the body of the deceased had been sent for post-mortem.

“Following talks, the locals lifted the road blockade and the bus and its driver are currently in police custody. Legal action is underway,” Gautam added.