Class IX student, woman dead in 2 separate accidents

Kolkata: Rash driving snuffed out two lives including that of a school student in two separate road accidents in the city on Saturday. The incidents occurred at a time when the National Road Safety Week is being observed in Kolkata.

One of the accidents triggered violence with locals ransacking a trailer that knocked down a Class IX girl in Garden Reach area on Saturday morning. An irate mob also put up a roadblock following the accident prompting senior police officers to rush to the spot. The situation was brought under control after cops pacified the protestors.

Police have managed to seize the killer trailer. The driver was later arrested.

According to cops, the victim, Ashmina Parvin (15), a student of Class IX from Arya Parishad Vidyalaya in Garden Reach was returning home from school.

While trying to cross the road, the trailer hit her while taking a U-turn on Nimak Mahal Road. The incident occurred at around 9.50 am on Thursday. The driver immediately fled the spot leaving the vehicle there. The victim suffered multiple injuries. Locals rushed her to SSKM Hospital where she was declared brought dead.

The incident led to traffic congestion after the residents put up a blockade at the crossing of CGR Road and Nimak Mahal road. The locals alleged that incidents often take place in the area due to overspeeding. They also raised their protest as there are no speed breakers on the stretch. They also added that the driver failed to control the vehicle as it was at high speed. The demonstration was lifted after senior police officers gave assurances that steps would be taken to check such accidents.

In another accident, a 50-year-old woman whose identity is yet to be ascertained, was hit by a private bus near Netaji Statue on Rani Rashmani Avenue at around 3.15 pm on Saturday. The victim, believed to be a pilgrim who was going for a holy dip at Gangasagar, was trying to cross the road when the speeding bus mowed her down.

According to a preliminary investigation, police suspect that the victim was from Maharashtra. She was taken to SSKM Hospital where the doctors pronounced her brought dead. Police have seized the vehicle while the driver is at large since the incident.

In a separate incident, a youth was injured after he was hit by a speeding bus near Dhapa Mathpukur on EM Bypass on Saturday morning. It may be mentioned here that two people were killed in two separate accidents in the city last Thursday after being hit by two buses racing against each other to pick up extra passengers.