Kolkata: A seven-year-old boy was killed and his father was seriously injured after being hit by a speeding truck on way to school in Behala in Kolkata this morning. The horrific accident left locals fuming and they torched several vehicles including a police van in protest.
Souraneel, a class 2 student and his father Saroj Sarkar were crossing the road when suddenly a cargo truck came from behind. The boy was run over by the truck and succumbed to his injuries on the spot. His father was rushed to the trauma care centre of SSKM Hospital and is currently battling for life.
Alleging of negligence and police inaction, locals started staging a protest on the road. Several cars were set on fire in retaliation. They alleged that policemen allowed trucks to enter the area after taking bribes from them.
The residents said that policemen always gather in the area whenever any political personality comes here. But, no cops are seen during the school hours in the morning when proper traffic management is needed, a resident said.
A team of the Rapid Action Force (RAP) of Kolkata Police rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control. This apart, additional women policemen were deployed from the Kolkata Police headquarters. Locals said that policemen resorted to lathicharge though police refuted it.
According to police, an irate mob started damaging the CCTV cameras on the street, leaving no evidence at the accident site. Also, Diamond Harbour Road and some other important roads were blocked for almost two hours during the peak office hours leading to massive traffic snarls in the area, police said.
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"Police were taking some women into the prison van for creating the road blockade. The other women present at the spot, tried to snatch them from the police and this led to a ruckus," an official said. Allegations of policemen being beaten up in the incident have also come to the fore.
