Ranaghat, Aug. 13: Two persons were crushed to death and four others including a child and woman were critically injured when the Mahindra Scorpio they were traveling with had a head-on collision with a bus near Phulia on NH12 in Nadia on Sunday afternoon.
Police said that the Calcutta-bound private bus from Royganj had entered the wrong lane when the driver of the Scorpio which was running at a high speed failed to control the vehicle and rammed on it. Local residents heard a crushing sound rushed to the spot and had a difficult time rescuing the victims from the mangled remains of the vehicle.
All four passengers of the fateful vehicle were rushed to the Ranaghat sub-divisional hospital, where two persons were declared dead. The fateful accident occurred at Prafullanagar at about 12.40 pm on Sunday.
The driver of the vehicle identified as Abhijit Mondal died on the spot, while the other victim – an elderly woman remained unidentified.
The injured persons include Vinay Patel, a senior manager of a health insurance company from Belgharia, his wife Priyanka, and 11-year daughter Pihu, who were going to offer puja at Iskcon temple in Mayapur when the accident occurred. The trio was later shifted to a private hospital in Ranaghat.
Police and eyewitnesses have accused the driver of the bus of the accident. Police have seized the bus. However, its driver managed to flee after the accident,
A passenger of the bus said, “There was a traffic jam on the NH 12 on the Calcutta bound lane. The driver of the bus in a bid to overcome the jam had entered the other lane (Krishnanagar bound lane) at a diversion without waiting for the approaching vehicles when the Scorpio rammed on it at a high speed”.
Local residents in Phulia have alleged that a section of errant drivers of buses and Lorries often take illegal diversions entering the opposite lane creating a threat to vehicles running on the lane. “The widening works of NH12 are going on which often cause traffic jams. But there used to be little traffic management by police which is often exploited by the errant drivers of private buses and lorries as they enter opposite lane leading to accidents”, a resident in Phulia said.
A senior police officer, however, refuted the allegations. “We always keep a vigil on the road and book errant drivers. Nevertheless, exceptions occur. We have to check if the killer bus had illegally entered the other lane or if there was a diversion for the ongoing widening work”.