Two cousins and a friend from Bangladesh came on a holiday to Calcutta on Wednesday, but only one of them will go back home on Sunday.

One of the cousins Kazi Md Mainul Alam, 36, a manager in the country’s Grameenphone and their friend Farhana Islam Tania, 28, an assistant vice-president in City Bank, Bangladesh, died after a Mercedes sedan, which was hit by a speeding Jaguar car, struck them with great force at the crossing of Loudon Street and Theatre Road early on Saturday.

“I will be the only one to go back to Bangladesh tomorrow (Sunday). I can’t believe I will have to accompany the bodies of Mainul and Tania,” said Kazi Mohammad Shafi Rahamatullah, 36, who survived the accident.

They had arrived in Calcutta by road through Benapole on the India–Bangladesh border on Wednesday. They were to take the same route to return home on Sunday.

Jaguar F-PACE parked opposite Shakespeare Sarani police station on Saturday. Picture by Bishwarup Dutta

The three had planned to visit Calcutta as their offices were closed for Id.

After the accident, the cops got in touch with the deputy high commission of Bangladesh that has an office on Circus Avenue, close to Park Circus.

Mohammad Bashir Uddin, counsellor (consular) at the deputy high commission, reached the Shakespeare Sarani police station on Saturday morning.

Later he went to the SSKM Hospital where Rahamatullah was admitted for preliminary treatment. The bodies were also taken to the SSKM for post-mortem.

Bashir Uddin also took Rahamatullah to the foreigner registration office near Minto Park so that paper works could be completed for taking the bodies back to Bangladesh on Sunday. He also spoke to the hospital officials so that the post-mortem could be done without any delay.

“The bodies have been kept at Peace World, a mortuary in Topsia. We are extremely pained at the incident,” said Bashir Uddin.

Farhana Islam Tania and (right) Mainul Alam, in pictures taken from their passports

A friend of Rahamatullah, who, too, came to India from Bangladesh on a separate trip, accompanied him. The friend said he received a call from Rahamatullah on Saturday morning about the accident.

“I was staying at my sister’s place at Taltala. I, too, will return to Bangladesh with Rahamatullah,” said the friend.

Rahamatullah returned to the hospital at 6.30pm when the bodies were handed over to him in the presence of officials from the deputy high commission.

The bodies were then taken to the Peace World in a hearse, which is likely to leave the mortuary at 2am for the Petrapole border.

“The border opens at 6am. We want to make it to our Jhenaidah (district) as early as possible. Then the body of Tania would be taken to Kushthia, which is next to Jhenaidah” said Rahamatullah, who recollected how Mainul was more of a friend than a brother to him.

“I relied on him for advice before taking any step, although he was younger to me by few months,” he added.