A 30-year-old motorcyclist was killed and his pillion rider critically injured after their two-wheeler collided head-on with a Toyota Fortuner near the Urbana crossing off Kolkata’s EM Bypass early on Saturday, police said. The SUV driver allegedly abandoned the vehicle and fled, prompting investigators to examine CCTV footage and trace the driver.
The deceased rider was identified as Pratyush Panai. He was taken to NRS Medical College and Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. His pillion rider, 27-year-old Prosun Kumar, a student of Meghnad Saha Institute, was taken to Ruby General Hospital with serious injuries.
According to a preliminary police inquiry, the motorcycle was travelling from south to north along Chowbaga Road and was turning left towards Anandapur Road when it collided with the black Fortuner. The SUV was travelling from west to east along Anandapur Road and was turning right, police said.
The circumstances of the collision, including the movements of both vehicles immediately before impact, are being reconstructed by the police. The traffic police’s fatal squad has taken up the case and is checking CCTV footage from the crossing and adjoining roads.
Police said neither Panai nor Kumar was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. Investigators also alleged that both motorcycle riders were under the influence of alcohol. These findings were part of the preliminary inquiry and the investigation into the crash is continuing.
Both vehicles have been impounded as investigators work to identify the Fortuner driver and establish what happened after the collision. The driver’s alleged flight from the scene is now a central part of the police investigation.
The crash has drawn attention to the risks faced by two-wheeler users on busy arterial roads around Kolkata, particularly when helmet rules and safe-riding requirements are not followed. The immediate police focus, however, remains on analysing the CCTV footage, establishing the sequence of events and tracing the SUV driver.
