Two passengers were killed after allegedly being kicked off a moving bus following a fare dispute on the Rangpur-Dinajpur highway in Taraganj upazila on Sunday morning.

The deceased were identified as Mukul Islam, 28, son of Kalu Mia, and Shakib Bosunia, 22, son of Lokman Bosunia, both from Basuniapara village in Charaikhola union of Nilphamari Sadar upazila.

According to police, the victims' families and local sources, six construction workers from the same locality were returning from Cumilla on a bus of Saimon Exclusive Paribahan when an argument broke out between them and the bus staff over fares.

When the bus reached Taraganj, the staff allegedly kept one of the workers, Atique, on board against his will and forced the others to get off.

Mukul and Shakib later got back on the bus to rescue Atique, triggering another argument and a scuffle with the staff.

At one stage, the bus staff allegedly kicked the two men off the moving vehicle near Jighatala, leaving one dead on the spot and the other critically injured.

Hearing Atique's screams, local people helped arrange a microbus to intercept the bus and managed to stop it in the Chikli area.

A team of Taraganj Fire Service rushed to the scene around 8am after receiving information and found the two men lying beside the road. One was already dead, while the other was taken to a local hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Firefighter Benazir Ahmed of Taraganj Fire Service said they found no signs of a road accident at the scene. Local people told them that the two men had been thrown off the bus.

Police took the bus driver and supervisor into custody, said Taraganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Monabbar Hossen.

Angered by the incident, local people blocked the highway and staged protests.