A senior citizen died in a road accident on NH12 near the railway level crossing in the Silpinagar area on the outskirts of Raiganj town on Friday.

Subhash De Sarkar (65), a resident of Udaypur, was riding a motorcycle to Ukilpara with his daughter Sushmita, a nurse at a private nursing home.

While moving along NH12, a dump truck rear-ended Sarkar’s motorcycle.

Sushmita fell off the bike and was injured but her father was crushed under the truck’s wheels. Locals rushed to rescue him. He was taken to the Raiganj Government Medical College & Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. Sushmita was shifted to a private nursing home.

“He (Sarkar) often took his daughter to her workplace. We never thought that he would die in such a manner. His wife has fallen ill after the mishap. There was no traffic police at the spot to monitor vehicular movement,” said Uttam Kar, a neighbour of
the deceased.

After the incident, tensions sparked as a few locals torched the dump truck. They also caught hold of the truck driver and beat him up.

Soon, a police team led by Kuntal Banerjee, the additional superintendent of police (headquarters) of Raiganj, reached the spot and brought the situation under control. A fire tender was sent to douse the blaze.

The truck driver, however, managed to escape. The police have seized the vehicle.

Locals said even after a new bypass has been built on the outskirts of the town, a section of goods vehicles still move through the highway.

“The dump trucks move at high speed. We feel unsafe while walking on the road or while crossing it,” said Gayatri Mondal, a resident of Silpinagar.

Kuntal Banerjee, the ASP, said they have initiated a probe. “We will introduce a traffic kiosk and post our men here. Also, speed breakers will be put in the area,” he said.