Acting tough after the tragic road accident in Behala, the Bengal government suspended eight police personnel including two officers suspected of dereliction of duty. Two of those eight policemen were learnt to be of the rank of officers.

What looked like a bid to allay the severe discontent among guardians of students and local residents over traffic policing in the vicinity of the Barisha High School on the Diamond Harbour Road state highway near Behala Chowrasta that has allegedly resulted in multiple accidents in the past, the names of the eight policemen have now been added to the accident case investigated by the police. A departmental enquiry is also being simultaneously conducted against the suspects.

The moves purportedly were made after chief minister Mamata Banerjee called up Calcutta police commissioner Vineet Goyal and expressed her displeasure at the events which unfolded in the heart of the city on Friday morning. She reportedly directed the CP to take stern steps against the men in uniform whose slackness in duty could have failed to pre-empt the tragic accident which claimed the life of Souranil Sarkar, a seven-year-old school kid.

Remains of a burnt vehicle after a clash between police personnel and locals following a road accident in which a student of Barisha High School was killed by a speeding truck, in Calcutta. PTI picture

The incident took place on the state highway near Behala Chowrasta around 7am when Souranil Sarkar, a Class II student and resident of Nabapalli in Thakurpukura, was about to enter his school (Barisha High School), riding on his father’s bicycle. The truck, allegedly moving at a high speed, hit the two-wheeler killing the boy on the spot, and crushed his father, Saroj Sarkar’s legs, before escaping from the area.

Several guardians, local residents and even the headmaster of the school vented their anger against the police alleging inaction and their propensity for bribes in exchange for allowing unauthorized vehicles to ply within the city during rush hours. “Some of these goods vehicles drive at a breakneck speed inside the city to avoid being stopped by the traffic constables for bribes. Several accidents have happened at this busy junction in the recent past because of such rash driving,” an eyewitness to the Friday accident alleged.

“Why wasn’t the killer truck stopped by the police at the next intersection? Why was it allowed to leave the city? Was the police trying to help him escape?” asked a guardian of a school student referring to the vehicle and its driver finally getting caught in Howrah, some 15 kilometers away from the accident site, that too by a different police wing.

Police resorted to lathi charge and bursting tear gas shells to bring under control the rampaging mob, which ransacked and torched public properties and private vehicles. But, in the process, the men in uniform faced sharp flak from parents and school authorities after some of those shells landed inside the school premises and caused severe physical irritation to the students and teachers alike.

Police personnel detain protestors during a protest following a road accident in which a student of the Barisha High School. PTI picture

The eight police personnel were issued show cause notices by the traffic department of Calcutta Police for showing slackness in duty and they have been suspended pending enquiry, a source in the state administration confirmed.

“Police remain posted outside private schools in the neighbourhood when students arrive by their private cars. In my school, students do not arrive by four-wheelers and there are never any police here to guarantee their safety. I will blame the police for today’s incident. I wouldn’t have lost my child if they were doing their duty properly,” said Arjun Roy, headmaster of the Barisha High School, breaking down before reporters.

Commissioner Goyal who visited the accident site said steps were being taken to ensure such tragedies don’t get repeated. “It isn’t true that police don’t man this area. The alertness of our officers have successfully curbed the number of accidents compared to the past. What happened today is, of course, unfortunate. We will be conducting necessary investigations to fix responsibilities,” Goyal said.