Though the WBTF withdrew the strike after talks with the home secretary, commuters continued to face a tough time, as drivers and conductors belonged to the WBTF.

Nearly 2,500 minibuses and over 9,000 private buses in Kolkata and around 35,000 buses in the state were off the roads, except those owned by the state transport department and school buses.

WBTF member Subhas Mukherjee said: “We are satisfied with the meeting and have decided to call off the strike. There are a lot of factors responsible in an accident and the diver alone cannot be held responsible. The decision to book the drivers under non-bailable sections is wrong. We will continue to protest against it.”

Swarnakamal Saha, president of Bengal Bus Syndicate, a bus owners’ association, said they have incurred a huge loss due to the strike. “We had to lend our moral support for the strike as it was not possible for us to run buses without drivers and conductors,” he said.

Section 304. culpable homicide not amounting to murder

Non-bailable offence

Whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder shall be punished with life imprisonment and shall also be liable to fine if the act is committed with the intention of causing death, or of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death

Or with imprisonment up to ten years, if the act is done with the knowledge that it is likely to cause death, but without any intention to cause death, or to cause such bodily injury as is likely to cause deathSection 304A. Causing death by negligence.

... contd.