A Kolkata police constable returning home after duty early on Tuesday died after his motorbike crashed into a stationary lorry near Thakurpukur on Diamond Harbour Road in southwest Kolkata.
Police sources said cops in a van could have asked the lorry driver to stop, and that could have caused the sudden slowing down of the vehicle and the consequent accident.
Pradeep Mukherjee, 38, a constable posted in the anti-rowdy squad of the detective department, was not wearing a helmet, senior officers said.
Deputy commissioner (south-west) Saumya Roy said an inquiry had been started.
“I will be able to share more details on Tuesday after the preliminary findings of the inquiry are known,” Roy said.
The accident happened near 3A bus stand around 3.30am.
Mukherjee was taken to a private hospital, where he was declared dead.
Police officers not attached to the case said Mukherjee could have survived had he worn a helmet.
“He had suffered brain injuries,” said the officer.
Allegations of forceful detention of trucks for extortion often surface against police officers at night.
An officer at Lalbazar said cops in a PCR van had asked the lorry driver to stop, which could have forced him to press the brakes suddenly.
“Things will be clear only after the statements of the driver and the personnel in the PCR van were recorded.”