7-yr-old child dead, father suffers critical injuries after truck runs them over

Kolkata: In a tragic road accident in the Behala Chowrasta area, a seven-year-old child was killed and his father suffered critical injuries after a truck ran them over on Friday morning following which massive agitation took place in the area and several vehicles along with Diamond Harbour traffic guard were vandalised. The driver and the helper have already been arrested.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had called up Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi and took stock of the situation. She also asked for a report on the incident from him following which Dwivedi sought a report from the Commissioner of Police (CP), Kolkata, Vineet Kumar Goyal. Later, Goyal, along with other senior Kolkata Police officials, visited the accident spot and took stock of the situation.

Around 6:50 am, a truck hit the class II student of Barisha High School, identified as Souraneel Sarkar (8), and his father Saroj Kumar Sarkar while they were crossing the road. After running over the child and his father, the driver fled with his truck. The incident took place in front of Barisha High School located on Diamond Harbour Road. It is alleged that no police personnel were there on the spot when the accident took place. Local people and school teachers arranged a car and rushed the child and his father to Vidyasagar State General Hospital where Souraneel was declared brought dead. His father was shifted to SSKM Hospital later.

When police reached the spot, local residents started agitating. They claimed that due to the non-availability of police personnel, the accident happened. After a while, the mob started vandalising vehicles that were stuck due to traffic congestion. Four buses, including a state-run bus along with a police van, were vandalised and later torched by the agitators. The mob even reached the Diamond Harbour Road traffic guard and vandalised the office, including the chamber of the Officer-in-Charge, the Sergeants’ room and other rooms. Several documents were also damaged and set on fire.

Meanwhile, when police tried to stop the mob, cops were assaulted. To bring the situation under control, a large contingent of police force, including Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Combat Force were deployed. Tear gas shells were fired to disperse the violent mob. Joint Commissioner of Police (Jt. CP), Traffic, Rupesh Kumar was also assaulted.

The Headmaster of Barisha High School alleged that despite his repeated requests to the police to deploy personnel in front of the school, his pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

He further alleged that police personnel are deployed in front of a few other schools near the spot. Local people also alleged less police vigilance in the area. However, Goyal denied the allegations and claimed that cops are being deployed there. He said: “It is not that our officers do not look after the area. An inquiry will be done. We will do whatever is needed to improve the situation in the area. The truck driver has been arrested and the truck has been seized.”

Apart from the accident, till Friday night, police arrested around 11 persons in connection with the vandalism and attack on police.