Bihar school bus carrying children drives over burning tyre as mob blocks road during Bharat Bandh

A school bus with children on board in Gopalganj Bihar, almost caught after driving over a burning tyre on a road blocked for the Bharat Bandh

A school bus with children onboard in Bihar's Gopalganj almost caught fire after driving over a burning tyre on a road blocked by Bharat bandh protesters. Police and district administration intervened on time and prevented the incident.

School bus with children on board almost burns after driving over a burning tyre during the Bharat Bandh

People had gathered in the area as part of the Bharat bandh called by by Dalit and adivasi groups against a recent Supreme Court order on reservation for scheduled castes.

In a video, a yellow bus can be purportedly seen surrounded by a mob armed with sticks. A man was seen burning a tyre right under the bus. The road the bus was on had been blocked with several burning tyres seen scattered around.

While initial reports claimed that the mob had attacked the bus and tried to set it on fire, the Gopalganj Police clarified that though people protesting had burn tyres and blocked the road, they did not attempt to burn the bus.

The bus drove over one of the burning tyres on the crowded road which caused the near-fatal accident.

Watch the video here:

The superintendent of police in Gopalganj, Swarn Prabhat, told NDTV that a high alert had been issued due to the Bharat bandh. He also said a large police contingent and magistrates had been deployed at various locations in the town.

Gopalganj saw mixed responses to the Bharat bandh, with vehicles traveling smoothly on some roads while disruptions were caused by protestors along National Highway 27 and the railway tracks.

The Bharat bandh was called by Dalit organisations against a recent Supreme Court's judgment, which held that states could make sub-classifications within SCs, to grant reservation to those deemed are socially and educationally more backward among them.