Locals alleged that the accident might not have occurred had the civic authorities and the developer of the mall, Bengal Shelter, cleared the mud on the road left after the project work.

“Manisha was riding pillion on her father Narsing Jaiswal’s bike. Suddenly the vehicle got stuck in a heap of mud and Manisha fell off. A speeding bus, coming from the opposite direction, ran over her, as its driver could not immediately apply the brakes,” said Anil Jaiswal, a relative of the victim.

While her father sustained minor injuries, she was rushed to the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital but was declared dead on arrival. The Class V student of the Pratt Memorial School was the only child of her parents. Her body has been sent for a postmortem.

Locals said the construction workers of the mall dumped mud on the road adjacent to the project site. The footpath is also completely blocked and there is hardly any space left for pedestrians to walk, they said.

“The area has become accident-prone due to the construction work. We have repeatedly asked the authorities to clear the road but our appeals fell on deaf ears,” said Sudeb Das, chairman of Borough IV.