A police constable was killed when he hit by a dumper on the Farakka-Haldia Badshahi Road in East Midnapore on Friday morning.
Police said that the victim Pulakesh Mitra was posted with Baranjha police station. He was on-duty when the accident took place.
People who witnessed the incident said that Mitra was performing his duty like all other days at a distance of around 10 metre from a market.
He found a dumper approaching the area at a high speed. Apprehending that the it may lead to an accident, as hundreds of people were present in the market, he tried to stop the vehicle.
Instead of paying heed to the constable, the driver of the dumper accelerated the vehicle and hit Mitra. The driver, however, managed to flee with the vehicle. Other police officers, who were on-duty in the vicinity rushed to the spot and took Mitra to a nearby hospital with the help of local people. Mitra had received severe injuries on his head and chest. He was alive when taken to the hospital.
Later, he succumbed to his injuries in the emergency department of the hospital.
Local people initiated a search for the accused driver and the offending vehicle. More policemen have been posted at the spot where the incident took place to avoid repetition of such incidents.
A police officer said that they are planning to set up a check point ahead of the market so that no vehicle can accelerate at that stretch of the road.