Speeding car mows down cyclist, injures 6 pedestrians at Chingrighata – Times of India

Kolkata News

Kolkata: A cyclist was killed and six pedestrians were injured when a car owned by a Salt Lake-based veterinarian, in a hurry to cross the Chingrighata crossing around 4pm on Saturday even as the green signal turned yellow, hit an ambulance, the cyclist and then tried to make an abrupt U-turn hitting six other pedestrians.
The car finally got stuck in a median curve. The cyclist, Toufik Ahmed, a resident of East Midnapore’s Kolaghat, died before he could be taken to a private hospital off Bypass. The veterinarian’s husband, Chirotosh Roy (53), who was at the wheels, has been arrested for rash driving, causing death due to negligence and causing grievous hurt among others. All offences are bailable. He will be produced in a Salt Lake court on Sunday, police said..
According to sources, the car was headed north along EM Bypass, possibly to the couple’s Salt Lake Sector I home from their Keyatala Road-based pet clinic and referral centre. The couple owns another such centre in Kankurgachhi. Though the car had a driver, it was Roy who was driving with the driver sitting next to him. Roy’s wife was in the rear seat. The signal was green when the car approached Chingrighata crossing. It turned yellow when the car tried to cross it. Police said Roy didn’t stop the car neither did he slow it down. Ahmed, on seeing the yellow signal, had just about pulled his cycle a few feet on the road — at the crossing with South Canal East Road, said witnesses.
Roy first hit the ambulance ahead of his car and then swerved to where Ahmed and others were waiting for red signal. The car hit Ahmed and tried to take a U-turn abruptly. By then the signal had turned red and pedestrians had started crossing over. The car hit six others, including a woman, before getting stuck in a median curve. One of the pedestrians is said to be critical.
“All seven injured persons were taken to hospital where one of them succumbed to death. We have arrested the driver and seized the offending vehicle. All legal formalities are in process,” said Surya Prasad Yadav, DC headquarters, Bidhannagar Commissionerate.
Attempts to speak to the Roy family failed. It is learnt that the couple had been running their clinic and pet shops in south Kolkata and Kankurgachhi for several years. The couple in their late 40s are known faces among city’s pet lovers. A person who knows them said their cars are usually driven by drivers. A source said they were also not sure if Roy had just learnt driving. Police said the offending vehicle has been sent for forensic and mechanical tests.
Bhola Das, who was treated for head injuries, said, “We saw the car hitting the ambulance first. All I remember after that was something hit me and police were taking me to hospital.” Arup Doloi, who was hit on his head and left leg, said, “More people could have been hit.”
Inputs by Dwaipayan Ghosh,
Tamaghna Banerjee, Mayukh
Sengupta & Amit Moulick

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/speeding-car-mows-down-cyclist-injures-6-pedestrians-at-chingrighata/articleshow/87559904.cms