A five-year-old boy was run over by a bus on National Highway 7 near Dasarahalli at 8 a.m. here on Sunday, even as his father stood watching helplessly on the other side of the road. An angry mob assaulted the driver and threw stones at the bus and blocked the highway for nearly 20 minutes.
The boy was identified as D. Somanath, UKG student of Standard English School near Kempe Gowda Nagar. Danappa, a native of Bijapur who lives in Kempe Gowda Nagar, was there with his son to withdraw money from an ATM kiosk.
Mr. Danappa, a private factory employee, left his son on the other side of the road before going to the ATM kiosk. The boy, however, suddenly crossed the road and followed his father.
At the same time, the driver of the bus, which was Bangalore-bound from Basavakalyan, changed lanes only to hit the boy, the Peenya traffic police said based on the statements of Mr. Danappa and eye-witnesses.
“The boy was dragged for nearly 20 metres,” Basappa, who witnessed the accident, told presspersons.
Basappa and Danappa lost consciousness for a while after the accident.
Driver Mukund (38) of Basavakalyan was allegedly assaulted by the crowd before he fled the spot.
Protest
A large number of residents staged a protest at the spot and threw stones at the bus.
Policemen were deployed to control the mob. MLA Muniraju and others visited the spot and told the residents that steps will be taken to prevent such accidents on the stretch.
The residents urged the authorities concerned to remove barricades along the highway, saying that drivers were not able to see pedestrians crossing the highway because of the barricades.
Danappa, and his wife, Vinutha, who arrived at the spot with her younger child, Chandana (3), were inconsolable.
The body was shifted to M.S. Ramaiah hospital for post-mortem.
