Chandan Rajak, 8, thought he would make it to the other side of Old Court House Street before his sister. He had come from Giridih to live in a small outhouse at 21, Old Court House Street with his father Gokaram.

On Tuesday, around 11.20 am, a speeding taxi trying to overtake a south-bound minibus hit him while he was trying to cross the street from its western end to the other side, towards Great Eastern Hotel.

The boy fell on the road and his head hit the concrete. A traffic constable on duty rushed him to SSKM Hospital. Chandan died at the emergency ward, even before he could be put on a trolley.

?The taxi was trying to speed past the minibus and he came in the way. There was no way we could save him,? the constable later said.

As word spread, the child?s parents came running, with their daughter in tow. When they reached the hospital, Chandan was already dead.

Bystanders smashed the windshield of the taxi. They destroyed the minibus heading for Esplanade from Howrah. A contingent from Hare Street thana turned up and managed to control the mob. But not before traffic along the busy road was thrown out of gear.

In Behala, on Diamond Harbour Road, around the same time that Chandan was knocked down, a private bus hit Prasad Halder near No 14. bus stand when the man was trying to cross the road. Halder fell on the road and was dead even before local people could admit him to hospital.

?There are encroachments on both sides of Diamond Harbour Road and there are the tram tracks. It is really risky,? said a local resident.