Kolkata: 32-year-old pillion rider killed after bike skids on roadside rubble pile

KOLKATA: A pillion rider was killed when the two-wheeler she was on skidded on a roadside pile of rubble in Northern Avenue near Tala on Sunday morning and a mini truck coming from the opposite direction ran her over.
The biker was injured. Rinki Mallick, a 32-year-old Maniktala resident, fell on her left before being hit by the mini truck. The biker, 24-year-old Rahul Hela, fell on his right, away from the road, and was treated for his hand injuries before being discharged from RG Kar hospital.
The incident, police said, took place at 11.35am near Paikpara’s Biplabi Ganesh Udyan. Rahul, a Dum Dum Road resident, was riding the bike and had his helmet on. Rinki, too, had her helmet on. While the bike was heading north towards Seven Tanks, the mini truck was heading to RG Kar, in the opposite direction, around the same time. According to locals, at the spot where the accident took place, there was a pile of rubble — cement slabs, bricks — by the roadside. The two-wheeler hit the pile and skidded. The cement-laden mini-truck mowed down the girl who fell on the road. The driver fled after the accident, leaving the vehicle on the spot.
Chitpore cops, who have started a probe, said the victim’s body had been sent for postmortem and a case registered. The mini truck has been seized and its owner traced, police said.
“Efforts are being made to arrest the driver,” police said. Police said they would also record the statement of Rahul, who survived the accident with only hand injuries.
According to locals, a landscaping is taking place on a footpath where the accident took place. This has led to accumulation of roadside rubble at the spot. Locals also pointed out that on this stretch of road, there were no dividers segregating the north- and south-bound traffic.
“Earlier when the Tala Bridge was closed, the place had witnessed heavy traffic. But now the traffic volume has reduced but vehicles travel at high speed. There is also the problem of reckless driving. Lack of sufficient cops to man errant vehicles is another issue,” a local claimed. The locals also demanded more police presence to stop reckless driving.