KOLKATA: A 52-year-old man lost his life after being run over by an ambulance driver after he challenged the driver and his assistant for allegedly trying to molest and kidnap his daughter-in-law in central Kolkata late on Tuesday.
The accused ambulance driver — identified as Sk Abdul Rahaman (26) — reportedly stepped on the accelerator, dragging Gopal Pramanick 100 metres.
While Gopal’s 28-year-old daughter-in-law, Priyanka, told the cops that her father-in-law tried to protect her and protested against the ambulance driver and helper’s attempt to kidnap her, the cops say they have, so far, found it to be just a case of rash driving.
Rahaman, a resident of Daulatpur, Maheshtala, was arrested, charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Tajuddin, his 20-year-old helper, was also arrested on the same charges.
The incident occurred around 11.50pm on Tuesday, when Gopal, his wife Anima, their daughter Shyamali Acharya and her husband Biswanath Acharya, Priyanka, relative Arun Pramanick, and Priyanka’s three-year-old daughter were returning to their Christopher Road home after attending a wedding.
The family members at the spot claimed the driver of the ambulance, coming towards them, stopped the vehicle near Priyanka, who was walking around 30 metres in front.
CCTV grabs fail to show kidnap bid: Cops
Family members heard Priyanka scream and saw Gopal place himself between the car and her, arguing with the driver. But even as they reached the spot, the driver revved up and rammed into Gopal, dragging him around 100 metres.
Priyanka later told cops the driver and the helper were trying to kidnap her. “I noticed the ambulance coming from Topsia towards Tangra police station. Its blue light was working but the siren was off. A little ahead of me, it braked. I noticed two men inside it. The ambulance moved forward a bit and braked again. This continued a couple more times. Suddenly, one of them whispered to the other: ‘Issko utha lete hai (Let’s pick her up).’ The next moment, the driver’s aide opened the door and tried pulling me in as my daughter watched,” she said.
Hearing her shout, her family members rushed in to help. “My father-in-law asked the driver why he was behaving in this manner. He stood in front of the vehicle, my uncle was speaking to the acquaintance of the driver. As they saw more locals coming in, the driver accelerated and fled, hitting my father-in-law. I do not know the accused but can surely identify them,” said Biswanath.
The family found it difficult to find an ambulance so late at night and instead hired an auto to NRS Hospital, where Gopal died three hours later.
Joint CP (crime) Murlidhar Sharma said CCTV footage had so far failed to establish any attempt to molest or kidnap the woman. In fact, footage from eight cameras between China Town and Tangra police station crossing between 11pm and midnight failed to establish that the ambulance stopped at all for any sort of interaction with the family, he said. “But if Priyanka insists on her version, we will investigate,” he told TOI.
The ambulance, said cops, was moving from the Park Circus connector towards Tangra. “Rahaman was being helped by Tajuddin, his brother-in-law. They had come to drop a patient at China Town from SSKM Hospital. While returning, they lost their way in the bylanes, even as they kept receiving calls from Vidyasagar Hospital in Behala, telling them to rush. In their haste, the driver drove carelessly and did not notice Gopal standing on the road. After the accident, they fled through Mullickbazar,” said an officer.
Gopal gave a dying declaration, based on which the Tangra police registered the case. “There was no mention of kidnapping attempt, either in the initial complaint or dying declaration,” said Ajoy Prasad, DCP (east suburban).
The cops and family members, though, agreed on the intensity of the accident. The car hit him so hard that Gopal, who ran a tea shop near the China Town entry, got tangled in the front left wheel, and his clothes were ripped off.
The accused ambulance driver — identified as Sk Abdul Rahaman (26) — reportedly stepped on the accelerator, dragging Gopal Pramanick 100 metres.
While Gopal’s 28-year-old daughter-in-law, Priyanka, told the cops that her father-in-law tried to protect her and protested against the ambulance driver and helper’s attempt to kidnap her, the cops say they have, so far, found it to be just a case of rash driving.
Rahaman, a resident of Daulatpur, Maheshtala, was arrested, charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Tajuddin, his 20-year-old helper, was also arrested on the same charges.
The incident occurred around 11.50pm on Tuesday, when Gopal, his wife Anima, their daughter Shyamali Acharya and her husband Biswanath Acharya, Priyanka, relative Arun Pramanick, and Priyanka’s three-year-old daughter were returning to their Christopher Road home after attending a wedding.
The family members at the spot claimed the driver of the ambulance, coming towards them, stopped the vehicle near Priyanka, who was walking around 30 metres in front.
CCTV grabs fail to show kidnap bid: Cops
Family members heard Priyanka scream and saw Gopal place himself between the car and her, arguing with the driver. But even as they reached the spot, the driver revved up and rammed into Gopal, dragging him around 100 metres.
Priyanka later told cops the driver and the helper were trying to kidnap her. “I noticed the ambulance coming from Topsia towards Tangra police station. Its blue light was working but the siren was off. A little ahead of me, it braked. I noticed two men inside it. The ambulance moved forward a bit and braked again. This continued a couple more times. Suddenly, one of them whispered to the other: ‘Issko utha lete hai (Let’s pick her up).’ The next moment, the driver’s aide opened the door and tried pulling me in as my daughter watched,” she said.
Hearing her shout, her family members rushed in to help. “My father-in-law asked the driver why he was behaving in this manner. He stood in front of the vehicle, my uncle was speaking to the acquaintance of the driver. As they saw more locals coming in, the driver accelerated and fled, hitting my father-in-law. I do not know the accused but can surely identify them,” said Biswanath.
The family found it difficult to find an ambulance so late at night and instead hired an auto to NRS Hospital, where Gopal died three hours later.
Joint CP (crime) Murlidhar Sharma said CCTV footage had so far failed to establish any attempt to molest or kidnap the woman. In fact, footage from eight cameras between China Town and Tangra police station crossing between 11pm and midnight failed to establish that the ambulance stopped at all for any sort of interaction with the family, he said. “But if Priyanka insists on her version, we will investigate,” he told TOI.
The ambulance, said cops, was moving from the Park Circus connector towards Tangra. “Rahaman was being helped by Tajuddin, his brother-in-law. They had come to drop a patient at China Town from SSKM Hospital. While returning, they lost their way in the bylanes, even as they kept receiving calls from Vidyasagar Hospital in Behala, telling them to rush. In their haste, the driver drove carelessly and did not notice Gopal standing on the road. After the accident, they fled through Mullickbazar,” said an officer.
Gopal gave a dying declaration, based on which the Tangra police registered the case. “There was no mention of kidnapping attempt, either in the initial complaint or dying declaration,” said Ajoy Prasad, DCP (east suburban).
The cops and family members, though, agreed on the intensity of the accident. The car hit him so hard that Gopal, who ran a tea shop near the China Town entry, got tangled in the front left wheel, and his clothes were ripped off.
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