Two school-going boys, who hitched a ride with a motorcyclist, died on the spot when they were run over by an MTC bus on Nookkampalayam Link Road on Sunday.
The boys were returning home after plucking mangoes from a grove along Rajiv Gandhi Salai near Sholinganallur.
According to the Guindy traffic police, the victims, Mohammed (11) and Nandakumar (10), were residents of Tsunami Nagar, Semmanchery. Around 3 p.m., a few metres away from their homes in slum board tenements, the motorcyclist lost control of his vehicle while attempting to avoid a cyclist in front of him.
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The two boys, who were riding pillion, fell on the road and came under the wheels of the MTC bus (route no. H21). They died on the spot.
The motorcyclist, whom the police identified as one Jaikumar, fell on the roadside and escaped with bruises.
T. Sathya, a resident of Tsunami Nagar, said many accidents involving two-wheelers have taken place near the same spot.
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“Due to parking of vehicles in front of a Tasmac liquor outlet on the main thoroughfare, the road width has shrunk and very little space is available for other vehicles taking the road,” she said.
Umar, a neighbour of Mohammed’s family, said they had planned to intensify their stir for closure of the Tasmac outlet. Some activists have already commenced a signature campaign and are planning to meet the district revenue administration and Tasmac officials to ensure the closure of the shop that residents felt had been a nuisance ever since it was opened.
The police have sent the bodies to Government Royapettah Hospital for post-mortem. The bus driver, Mathiazhagan (40), of West Mambalam, was arrested and remanded to custody. The Guindy traffic investigation police registered a case and further investigation is on.