Out to celebrate Independence Day, four youth die as car falls in gorge in Darjeeling

The police personnel, who recovered the bodies, said the youths lived in Siliguri and had gone to Kurseong about 40 kilometres away from north Bengal’s biggest town to celebrate the 74th Independence Day on August 15.

Four youths died in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district on Saturday night, when their car skidded off a mountain road and fell into a gorge around a thousand feet below.

Raj Singh, the fifth passenger of the vehicle, could not be traced until Monday afternoon.

The police personnel, who recovered the bodies, said the youths lived in Siliguri and had gone to Kurseong about 40 kilometres away from north Bengal’s biggest town to celebrate the 74th Independence Day on August 15.

Three of them were college students.

The deceased have been identified as Bikram Das, Subrata Das, Rishabh Das and Abhranil Kundu.

A missing diary was lodged by Rishabh’s father Shekar Das at Siliguri police station on Sunday.

Manoranjan Das, additional superintendent of police (ASP), Kurseong, said, “Two bodies were recovered on Sunday night and two more on Monday morning.”

The youths hailed from Siliguri’s Rathkhola and NTS More neighbourhoods.

They were returning to Siliguri on Saturday night, when the accident took place downhill on Rohini Road near Kargil Dara.

ASP Das said, “Four bodies were found around 300 feet below the road. We are looking for the fifth youth.”

Police said some of the youths had last spoken with their family members after 11 pm on Saturday.

Initially, the youths drove down to Lataguri in the Dooars on Saturday, and later went uphill to Kurseong, police added.