A collision between a sports utility vehicle linked to former Trinamool Congress MLA Sukumar Mahato and a passenger e-rickshaw at Boyarmari in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district has left at least two people dead and another seriously injured, according to a report by The Statesman. The report contains conflicting casualty figures, however, with its summary referring to three deaths while the detailed account identifies two fatalities and one injured person.
The crash occurred on Wednesday when the SUV and the e-rickshaw collided near a roadside pond. The two vehicles reportedly plunged into the water after the SUV allegedly lost control and struck the three-wheeler. The e-rickshaw was carrying passengers travelling towards Sandeshkhali from the Malancha side, while the SUV driver was reportedly travelling towards Kolkata to bring Mahato.
Mahato was not in the vehicle at the time of the crash. According to the report, the driver, who had recently been appointed, has been untraceable since the incident. Police from Nazat police station reached the site after receiving information and began investigating the circumstances of the collision. The driver’s whereabouts remained unknown at the time of publication.
Local residents were among the first to respond. Eyewitness Mizanur Molla told The Statesman that people nearby heard a loud crash and saw the SUV hit the e-rickshaw before both vehicles entered the pond. Residents entered the water, moved the SUV and worked to extract the e-rickshaw, which was trapped underneath it. Molla said a woman was found inside the three-wheeler and that the rescue took considerable time.
The injured passengers were taken to Minakhan Hospital. The detailed account published by The Statesman said doctors declared the e-rickshaw driver, Mujibur Rahaman, 47, and a woman passenger, Mahima Bibi, 50, dead after they were brought to the hospital. Another injured person was undergoing treatment. The report’s broader reference to three deaths is not reconciled with these details, and an independently confirmed final casualty count was not provided in the supplied material.
BJP MLA from Sandeshkhali Sanat Sardar visited the crash site and said he would support the affected families. He also urged Mahato to assist the families of those killed and the injured person.
Mahato told the newspaper that he had been unable to contact the driver. He said that regardless of whether he had been inside the vehicle, two people had lost their lives after being hit by his car, and that he would provide assistance to both families and support the injured.
The case raises immediate questions about road safety near roadside water bodies, emergency access and the accountability of vehicle owners when a driver involved in a fatal crash cannot be located. Those broader issues remain subject to the police investigation. The final number of deaths, the condition of the injured person and the precise cause of the SUV losing control require confirmation from police or hospital authorities.
