Last night of 2017 sees 7 killed, 26 injured in 4 road mishaps in state

Kolkata: Seven people were killed and 26 others have been injured in four separate road accidents in various parts of the state since December 31 night.

The incidents happened at a time when the police, both in the city and districts, are rigorously implementing the 'Safe Drive, Save Life' campaign of the Chief Minister, whose primary objective behind launching the campaign was to reduce the number of road accidents.

One incident took place in Park Circus early on Monday morning. An angry mob put up a road block and staged demonstration in front of police after an 18-year-old boy was killed in a road accident. The victim has been identified as Md Tousif.

The incident took place on bridge number 4 at Park Circus in the wee hours of Monday. Police said that the motorcycle he was riding skidded due to a cluster of cables lying on the bridge.

Local residents told police that the victim was riding on his motorcycle at a high speed, as a result of which, he could not stop the bike despite seeing the cables at the last moment. He applied sudden brake but failed to avert the accident.

Police said that the victim was riding his bike along the Park Circus bridge no. 4 when the handle of the bike suddenly got stuck against a cable from the cluster which was lying on the bridge. The victim lost control over the bike and rammed against the divider.

Local people rushed to the spot and found the victim lying in a pool of blood. He was immediately rushed to the Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital where he was declared brought dead. His body was taken for postmortem examination.

After being informed, police reached the spot when they faced the wrath of local residents. They staged a demonstration in front of the police personnel protesting against the incident, questioning why there was the cluster of cables on the road.

They also put up a road block, which was later withdrawn following the intervention of senior police officers. The incident had caused traffic congestion in the area for some time in the morning. Police are investigating if the victim was in a drunken state.

In another accident, one biker died while the other riding pillion suffered critical injuries. According to the preliminary investigation, police suspect that they were in a drunken state. The incident took place at Nabagram area of Chandernagar late on Sunday night.

The deceased has been identified as Souvik Rudra. Police said that the bikers hit a road side tree. The local people rushed them to Chandannagar Sub-Divisional Hospital where Souvik was declared brought dead while his friend is undergoing treatment.

Meanwhile, as many as 25 persons have been injured when the bus they were travelling in overturned and fell into a roadside ditch. Some of the injured passengers are stated to be in serious condition as they suffered critical injuries in the accident.

The incident took place at Balurghat in South Dinajpur on Sunday night. Police said that the bus was carrying the passengers to Hili from Balurghat area when the driver lost control over the vehicle on National Highway 512. The bus fell into a ditch.

Local residents rushed to the spot and took part in the rescue operation. Traffic movement was suspended for a few hours till police and fire brigade officials removed the vehicle from the road. Police rescued the injured passengers and took them to a nearby hospital. A major tragedy was averted as there was no water in the ditch.

Police suspect that the incident might have happened following the bursting of a tyre. As the bus was at a high speed, the driver could not control the vehicle despite applying emergency brake.

The driver fled from the spot after the incident. Police have started a probe in this regard.

In another incident, five passengers, who were travelling in a car, were killed after their vehicle was hit by a truck in Hooghly district. They were returning home from Digha on New Year's eve.

The victims have been identified as Abu Bakar (37), Marjina Begam (37), Mohammad Khalil (31), Oshman Ali (16) and Mariyam Khatun (20).

One injured person has been taken to a hospital. Police have detained the truck driver and seized the vehicle.