A Sandeshkhali accident killed two people and left another seriously injured after an SUV linked to former Trinamool Congress MLA Sukumar Mahato collided head-on with a toto in the Bayarmari area, according to a report by Anandabazar. The SUV and the toto fell into a roadside pond after the crash, while the SUV driver fled the scene.
The accident took place while the SUV was travelling towards Kolkata to bring Mahato back. Mahato was not inside the vehicle at the time, the report said. The toto, carrying passengers, was travelling from the direction of Malancha towards Sandeshkhali when the SUV allegedly lost control and struck it directly in the Bayarmari area.
Several people travelling in the toto were seriously injured in the collision. Local residents rescued those trapped in the vehicles and took the injured to Minakhan Hospital. Doctors at the hospital declared the toto driver, Mujibur Rahman, 47, and a woman passenger, Mahima Bibi, 50, dead.
One other injured person remains under treatment at Minakhan Hospital, according to the report. The crash brought local attention to the risks faced by passengers using small public transport vehicles on roads where a collision can quickly push vehicles into roadside ponds or other exposed areas.
Police from Nazat police station reached the site after receiving information about the accident. The SUV driver was reported to be missing after the collision. The report did not state whether police had registered a case or made any arrests by the time of publication.
Eyewitness Mizanur Molla said local residents heard a loud impact and saw the black SUV strike the toto before plunging into the pond. Residents entered the water, moved the SUV and pulled out the toto. Molla said it took considerable time to rescue the woman trapped inside the vehicle.
Sandeshkhali BJP MLA Sanat Sardar also reached the spot and assured the injured and the families of those killed of support. He urged Mahato to stand by the affected families.
Mahato said he had been unable to contact the driver and did not know where he was. He said that, regardless of whether he was in the vehicle, two people had died in an accident involving his car and he would stand by both families and assist the injured. Police action and the investigation into the crash are now the next official steps.
