Akali Dal leader's bus mows down 10-year-old girl in Punjab

A private bus that mowed down a 10-year-old girl near Makhu town belong to a transport company owned by SAD leader Hardeep Singh Dhillon.

Representational Image (YouTube grab)

Chandigarh: Protests broke out in Punjab's Ferozepur district on Thursday after a 10-year-old girl was allegedly crushed to death by a bus owned by senior Akali Dal leader Hardeep Singh.

A speeding Amritsar-bound bus hit Gurpreet Kaur, a resident of Dyalpura village in Tarn Taran district, on Thursday while she was reportedly standing along the road. She was hit again when she got up and tried to cross the road, reports The Tribune.

The driver has been booked. The bus was seized after hundreds of protesters gathered on the spot and blocked the Amritsar-Zira highway.

Last week, Arshdeep Kaur, a 13-year-old girl, was killed in a similar incident in Channu village involving a bus belonging to the same transport company - New Deep Transport Company - owned by Hardeep Singh, popularly known as Dimpy Dhillon.

Protests by local residents and Congress workers followed both the incidents.

Hardeep Singh is close to the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's family. The area in charge of Akali Dal from Gidderbaha constituency and the chairman of District Planning Committee was unavailable for comments.

In May, a teenaged girl got killed after being molested and thrown off a moving bus belonging to Punjab’s ruling Badal family.

The incident had triggered protests by opposition parties.