Bengal: Woman dies after SUV with 5 men chases, crashes into her car on NH-19
She was travelling to Gaya in Bihar with four men, including her driver, who alleged that the men in the SUV gestured indecently at her.
A 27-year-old woman died on the spot after her car was allegedly chased by five men in another car, crashed in Bengal’s West Burdwan district near National Highway-19, police said.
The victim woman was a resident of Chandannagar in Hooghly district.
She was travelling to Gaya in Bihar with four men, including her driver, who alleged that the men in the SUV gestured indecently at the woman during a five-kilometer chase. Her car crashed around 12:30am on Monday. The woman died but the driver and other occupants suffered minor injuries.
“Chatterjee was a professional dancer. She was going to Gaya to perform. We are looking for Bablu Yadav, the registered owner of the SUV,” Prasun Khan, inspector-in-charge of Kanksa police station, told HT.
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The occupants of the SUV fled the spot leaving behind their car as its driver allegedly rammed into the woman’s car several times before it overturned.
“Madam was sitting in the front seat beside me. We stopped at a gas station in Budbud for fuel. Shortly after we hit the highway, the SUV started chasing us,” the driver told local media persons.
{{/usCountry}}“Madam was sitting in the front seat beside me. We stopped at a gas station in Budbud for fuel. Shortly after we hit the highway, the SUV started chasing us,” the driver told local media persons.
{{/usCountry}}“When the SUV overtook us, the men inside made indecent gestures at Madam. We sped ahead but the SUV came to our left and rammed into us. I steered into a service lane to escape but the SUV rammed into us again. I hit a roadside barrier, and our car overturned. Madam died at the spot,” the driver added.
The woman’s associate Mintu Mondal, who was sitting in the back seat, said, “After the accident, I rushed to the SUV and caught the driver by his collar. I snatched away the ignition key. All the men fled.”
Suman Kumar Jaiswal, assistant commissioner of Asansol Durgapur police commissionerate reached Kanksa and spoke to the deceased person’s co-passengers.
Several people were rounded up and taken to the police station for questioning.
Yadav, the SUV owner, is a resident of Panagarh in West Burdwan, police found during the probe.
“Footages from security cameras installed in the area are being examined. We cannot say anything more until the suspects are found,” said Jaiswal.
The victim’s body was sent to a district hospital for post-mortem examination.
Leena Gangopadhyay, chairperson of the West Bengal Commission for Women, said, “We all travel on highways everyday but an incident like this is rare. Police must carry out a thorough investigation.”
