72-year-old with pacemaker dies as auto overturns

KOLKATA: A 72-year-old man died after the auto he was travelling in overturned while overtaking a private bus on Beliaghata Main Road at Munshibazar crossing on Wednesday afternoon. Witnesses claimed the auto, which was moving at considerable speed, hit the stump of a broken plastic road divider and overturned. The victim — the lone passenger — was trapped under the vehicle and had to be dragged out by locals.

Ramesh Chandra Mitra, from Canal East Bylane, had a pacemaker and could not bear the trauma and the injury he suffered in his chest due to the fall. He was later declared dead at NRS Hospital. The auto driver managed to flee, but cops seized the vehicle.

The incident was reported around 12.30pm at the spot where the road takes a slight left turn. Aurobindo Singha, who witnessed the incident, said, “This is a very narrow stretch with busy two-way traffic. The plastic road dividers have been installed by police so that the traffic sticks to their respective lanes. However, this is routinely flouted. I saw the Sealdah-bound auto attempting to overtake the bus which was going very slowly. In doing so, its wheels got over the plastic stump of whatever is left of the broken road divider and it overturned. The elderly passenger was trapped under the auto. He was rescued and taken to hospital with police help.”

Cops said that Mitra had sustained injuries in his chest, which is fatal for such cardiac patients. Doctors that TOI spoke to, however, said that internal injuries could not be ruled out — one of the reasons why cops are conducting his post-mortem.

The police said that they believe the accident was entirely the auto driver’s fault. “Mitra was the only passenger and The auto driver was speeding. We are looking at CCTV footages to ascertain the exact reason that led to the accident,” said an investigating officer.

The case was transferred to the fatal squad of the traffic department on Wednesday evening. A mechanical test of the auto will be carried out to find out why the auto lost its balance.