Bhopal, March 4 In an unsettling and tragic incident, an innocent passenger was killed, and a few others were injured when unidentified miscreants suddenly began pelting stones at a moving bus in the Chorhata police station area of the Rewa town.
The incident happened on Monday evening. According to the police, the victim, a physiotherapist by profession, became a casualty of the relentless competition between private bus operators.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Urban), Anil Sonkar told IANS over the phone that three unidentified bike riders appeared out of nowhere and pelted two stones with the intent to damage the windscreen of the bus, thereby causing financial loss to the bus operator.
He noted that such incidents often go unreported. The incident occurred shortly after the private bus, en route from Rewa to Indore, had barely covered a few kilometres at around 7 p.m. on Monday.
Three masked bikers appeared, and two of them pelted stones at the bus. One of these stones tragically struck Hiralal, an innocent passenger seated near the driver, directly in the head.
The impact caused severe bleeding, and despite being rushed to the hospital, he could not be saved.
The police launched an immediate hunt for the miscreants, with Sonkar asserting that they would be apprehended soon.
He mentioned that video footage had been obtained, and other passengers, along with local bus operators, have been interrogated.
The investigation is progressing swiftly, and the culprits are expected to be caught soon, he said.
Sonkar also clarified that no other passengers, except for the driver and the ill-fated passenger, were injured in the incident. The driver is currently receiving treatment and is out of danger.
Hiralal, the victim, was a resident of Indore and worked at the Community Health Center in Sirmaur, Rewa district. He was traveling to Indore to meet his family while on vacation.
The police confirmed that the incident took place within the jurisdiction of the Chorhata police station near the Railway station in Rewa.
Hiralal's body has been kept in the morgue, and a post-mortem examination is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
A similar incident occurred in western Madhya Pradesh a few years ago when a member of a bus operator set a moving bus ablaze, leaving a few innocent passengers charred to death.
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