At around 2 pm in the afternoon, 37 year old Saroj Kumar Banik, who was driving a Volkswagen car, rammed through a traffic signal at very high speed. This has left 20 people injured and 3 dead. The driver too is in the hospital. As per hospital reports, the driver was driving the car under the influence of alcohol.
The accident took place at the AJC Bose Road and Belvedere Road crossing near Kolkata Zoo. Most of the victims from the accident were in Kolkata for a holiday, and were visiting the zoo.
Traffic police present at the time of accident, reveal that the car was travelling at more than 100 kmph. The alleged drunk driver, Saroj was heading towards Kidderpore when he decided to gun the signal in spite of it being red. As per onlookers, the driver decided to gun the signal when it was Yellow. By the time he could realize that it was too late, as the traffic from the other corner was already out on the road.
The CCTV footage shows how the traffic from other end had just started to move. Most of the two wheelers and pedestrians were in the middle of the road when tragedy struck. The driver did not apply brakes as he was accelerating. The impact was such that bodies were sent flying into the air. A traffic cop who was in the middle of the road, got saved by a whisker. Almost everyone was unaware of the car coming. The car only came to a halt after ramming into a street lamp pole.
One of twenty people who got injured, Arbina Khatun, who is admitted at a nearby hospital with a fractured leg, told “In a matter of seconds, there was carnage everywhere.The car just came across the road, hit the bikes and then hit us.We all fell on the road and I co uld see my cousin and several other men lying in a pool of blood.”
The three who died, included two bikers and a 12 year old girl. The two bikers (Susanta Mondal, 52, and Rajib Kr Roy , 35) died on the spot, while the girl died at the hospital, succumbing to injuries. The 12 yr old girl, Halima Khatun, was a Class VI student and was waiting at the edge of the road with her family when the car came and hit her. She belongs to a nearby village and was in the city with her family to visit the zoo.
Below is the CCTV footage. Viewer discretion is advised.
A case of reckless driving has been filed by the local cops. One of the senior cops investigating the case said, “The accident was an act of utter recklessness on the part of the driver. We have charged him under sections of murder and attempt to murder. If convicted, he can face the death penalty or be behind bars for life.”
Time and again we have urged readers to be at their attentive best when on road. Driving under the influence of alcohol continues to be one of the biggest reason behind road deaths.
