A Kolkata road crash near Urbana killed a 30-year-old biker and critically injured his pillion rider early on Saturday after their motorcycle collided head-on with a car in Anandapur, police said. The car driver allegedly fled the spot, leaving the vehicle behind, and police have launched a search to identify and trace the driver.
The collision took place around 4am at the junction of Chowbhaga Road and Anandapur Road under Anandapur police station. According to the police account, the two men were travelling along Chowbhaga Road towards Anandapur when their motorcycle collided with an oncoming car as they turned towards Anandapur Road. The impact threw both riders off the motorcycle.
The rider, identified as Pratyush Panai, sustained severe head injuries and was taken to NRS Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. His friend, Prasun Kumar, 27, suffered serious injuries and was admitted to Ruby Hospital, where he was undergoing treatment, police said.
Kumar is a resident of Gandhinagar in Jharkhand’s Godda district and an engineering student at Chowbhaga. Police said he was possibly returning to his college hostel when the accident occurred. The men had reportedly been out pandal-hopping before the crash.
Preliminary findings indicated that neither Panai nor Kumar was wearing a helmet, according to police. A senior Kolkata Police officer also said the two men appeared to be intoxicated, while stressing that the circumstances leading to the collision were still being investigated. The officer said, “It seems both the men were intoxicated. The circumstances leading to the collision are being probed.”
The driver allegedly abandoned the car at the crash site. Investigators are now attempting to establish the identity and whereabouts of the driver as part of the ongoing probe. Police are also examining the circumstances of the collision, including the movements of the motorcycle and car at the junction.
