Bhubaneswar: Two persons have been arrested for the violent mob attack on three Ama Buses at Ashok Nagar in Odisha capital on Friday.
The accused have been identified as Pradip Kumar Das (58), originally from Cuttack but residing in Ashok Nagar, and P Krishna Reddy (20), also a resident of Ashok Nagar’s Kalibadi Basti area. Both were produced before a local court on Saturday after legal formalities were completed.
The arrests were made based on viral video clips and CCTV footage, police said, adding that efforts are on to nab other persons involved.
Tension flared on the Janpath road here on Friday after an Ama Bus allegedly grazed a motorcycle around 2.15 pm, leaving the rider injured. An angry crowd, including locals and auto-rickshaw drivers, quickly gathered at the spot. They abused the bus driver, threatened him, and began pelting stones at the vehicle, shattering the windscreen and several window panes. Passengers panicked, with some sustaining minor injuries.
The mob’s fury did not stop there. The violence escalated, and agitators targeted two additional Ama Buses on the same route, causing further damage to property, disrupting traffic for a brief period, and forcing drivers and crew to flee for safety.
Police teams rushed to the scene, rescued the drivers and passengers, and brought the situation under control. The damaged buses and the motorcycle involved in the accident were also seized. CCTV footage and other clues were collected to identify those responsible.
The Capital Region Urban Transport (CRUT), which operates the Ama Buses, condemned the attack on the vehicles and crew. It said the biker entered the road from the wrong side and collided with the bus. The rider was not injured. “Realising his mistake, he tried to lift his bike to leave. However, a group of miscreants gathered at the spot and started vandalising the Ama Buses. Two of our captains were injured.”
One of the captain Mr Gauri Shankar Naik called the PCR immediately and was subsequently rescued by the police personnel, it said, adding that two complaints were filed at Capital police station.
