A police constable was killed in a road accident when he was on night patrol duty on a national highway in Purulia shortly after the celebrations that marked the arrival of the New Year.
Bablu Gorai,30, succumbed to injuries hours after the accident. Three police personnel, including a deputy superintendent of police, suffered injuries and are undergoing treatment at a local hospital.
The SUV of the police was hit by another government vehicle shortly after midnight on the highway in Purulia.
The police said a night patrolling team led by DSP (traffic), Mihir De, was on duty at the Raghavpur crossing on NH60(A) in Purulia when a Bolero belonging to the state excise department hit the vehicle belonging to the law enforcers.
The incident occurred near the office of the Trinamul Congress on Deshbandhu Road where party workers had assembled in large numbers to observe the party's 26th foundation day. The area was also crowded as New Year's celebrations were being held in the Trinamul office.
While celebrations were on, some policemen were regulating traffic on the highway crossing a few metres from the Trinamul office. Gorai and the other injured police officers were monitoring the job sitting inside the car when the Bolero rammed into it at high speed.
The Trinamul workers and other police personnel rushed the four injured policemen to Purulia district hospital. A critically injured Gorai, the DSP's bodyguard, was shifted to a private super-speciality hospital in Durgapur. Gorai died at the hospital early on Monday.
Purulia zila parishad chief Nibedita Mahato, who was attending the party programme, cut short the political event and helped rescue the injured policemen. She later visited the hospital in Purulia where the injured policemen were admitted. The DSP, who suffered injuries in his leg, was released after primary treatment in the morning and doctors advised him rest.
The police said the excise vehicle was not on duty and no government officials were travelling in it. The police have seized the Bolero and detained its driver.
