A 64-year-old man who was trying to brush up his driving skills and was at the wheel of his car apparently after five years, drove straight into a lake near his home in Behala and died in the car on Monday morning.

A neighbour, who is a driver by profession and was with Ashok Kanti Roy to guide him, has been admitted to hospital.

The victim, who had retired as executive engineer in the water department of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation four years ago, was last seen at the wheel around five years ago, younger brother Debashis Roy said.

“Dada used to drive only in the locality. He had not touched the steering wheel for the last five years or so. I didn’t know that today he had gone out to drive. He called a neighbour who was to guide him,” Debashis told The Telegraph.

The police said the Hyundai Santro that Ashok Kanti was driving smashed into a one-foot-high concrete wall of the lake in Jayasree Park and toppled over into the water. The lake is close to Ashok Kanti’s home.

“The car had completely submerged in the lake. People in the neighbourhood were the first respondents. Many jumped into the lake and opened the doors to rescue the men inside,” said an officer of Behala police station.

Ashok Kanti’s neighbour Subhas Banerjee, who was sitting next to him, was taken out first, Debashis said. Both were taken to a nursing home, where Ashok Kanti was declared dead.

“A lot of water was pumped out from his stomach. Doctors tried a lot to revive him, but failed,” Debasish said.

Ashok Kanti is survived by his wife and two sons. The elder son works in Bangalore, while the younger is a fashion designer in Calcutta.

The car was later lifted out of the lake with a crane.

There have been several incidents of people driving without proper training or supervision and causing accidents and even deaths in the city.

In February 2019, a 30-year-old learner driver who had been illegally steering a vehicle unsupervised through Rashbehari Avenue knocked down a woman praying outside a temple.

In February 2018, a woman who had been practising driving after a decade fatally injured a 70-year-old morning walker in Kasba.

“This is a common phenomenon and accidents keep happening because people are careless. Driving without training and supervision could not only jeopardise other’s life on the roads but also makes the person at the wheel vulnerable,” said a senior officer at Lalbazar.

Many Calcuttans who have not driven for years and have become accustomed to chauffeur service said they could not drive again because of limited road scape and lack of open areas.

“I had learned to drive 20 years ago. A few months ago I took out my car at night and tried to drive on EM Bypass. I realised my mistake within a few minutes. It could have had dangerous consequences,” said a retired executive.

According to motor vehicles rules, there is no upper age limit for obtaining a driving license. An official of the motor vehicles department said that to get a licence, an applicant would have to qualify a test and produce a certificate stating that he or she had the required eyesight and fitness to drive.