Three killed, several injured in road mishap at AJC Bose Road

Three persons, including a woman, were killed and 15 others injured in a road accident when a speeding car hit pedestrians after mounting a pavement as a result of a collision with two motorbikes – waiting for the traffic signal to turn green – at the intersection of AJC Bose Road and Belvedere Road around 2 pm on Monday.

State Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim and Kolkata Mayor Sovan Chatterjee went to the spot and also visited the victims at SSKM Hospital.

Police said, after speaking to local people, that the offending car was coming from the direction of SSKM Hospital.

It did not stop despite finding motorcyclists standing in front at the signal and hit them.

After hitting the motorbikes, the car went on to mount the pavement.

Both the motorcyclists – Shyamal Pal and Subhojit Sen – were seriously injured as they were flung a few yards in the air after being hit by the car.

The speeding car also left 18 pedestrians injured.

Among the pedestrians, Nasima Khatun – a resident of Bhangar in South 24-Parganas – and Susanta Mondal – a resident of Sarsuna – were declared brought dead at SSKM Hospital. Rajib Roy, a resident of Mahestala in South 24-Parganas, later succumbed to his injuries at the hospital.

The rest of the injured persons are undergoing treatment at the hospital. The driver of the offending car, Saroj Banik, was also seriously injured.

A police officer said that, as per preliminary investigation, it seems that the brakes of the car had malfunctioned and led to the crash. The car was being driven at a high speed and the driver failed to stop it from ramming into the bikers.

Unable to control the car’s momentum, Banik ended up steering it on to the pavement.

On-duty traffic sergeants, policemen from Hastings police station and policemen from the city police’s headquarters at Lalbazar reached the spot and helped rush the injured people to hospital.

The area was cordoned off and the mangled car was taken away.

The incident brought back haunting memories of an similar incident early this year, where an Indian Air Force officer was killed when a speeding car hit him during a rehearsal of the Republic Day parade. Several steps are being taken by the city police to avoid such accidents.