A Calcutta police constable returning home after night duty at West Port police station died after his scooter was hit by a goods vehicle early on Wednesday.
Avijit Chakraborty, 58, a resident of Vivekananda Place in Barasat, was passing through the intersection of Raja Dinendra Street and Vivekananda Road when his two-wheeler was hit by the lorry, police said.
“He was flung off the vehicle before landing on the road. He suffered serious head injuries and multiple fractures. The lorry fled,” said an officer of the Ultadanga Traffic Guard.
The crash happened around 4.53am when shops in the busy intersection were closed and traffic was thin.
A shopkeeper who was preparing to open his tea stall said he heard a crash and on coming out, saw a man on the road with serious injuries.
“His head was smashed and he was bleeding profusely. He died on the spot. The vehicle that hit him was nowhere to be seen,” said the tea stall owner.
The police said a case had been lodged against the lorry driver, whose identity was unknown till Wednesday evening.
Chakraborty, who was on stand-by night duty, left behind his wife and daughter.
According to records with the Calcutta traffic police, goods vehicles had been involved in as many as 77 road accidents in 2022.
“Trucks and lorries cause the maximum number of road accidents. According to statistics, around 41 per cent of the fatal accidents in Calcutta are caused by goods vehicles. It is difficult to regulate the movement of goods vehicles at night because of fewer traffic police personnel on the roads and the tendency of the truck and lorry drivers to violate traffic rules,” said an officer in the traffic department in Calcutta police.
Last year, 43 two-wheeler-riders had died in road crashes in Calcutta. Trucks were responsible for 23 of the fatal crashes, the police said citing records at Lal-bazar.