Chased By Drunken Goons, Bengal Dancer Killed In Car Crash

Kolkata: A dancer was killed in a road accident allegedly after being chased by a group of inebriated youths at Panagarh in West Bengal’s East Bardhaman district.

A complaint has been registered based on the statements of the driver and another person who was travelling in that car.

“We have seized the other vehicle and are scanning CCTV footage of the area to find out more about the youths. We are also speaking to employees of the petrol pump where the driver claims the trouble first started,” a senior police officer said.

According to the statement of Rajedeo Sharma, who was driving the car, Sutandra Chattopadhyay, a dancer-cum event management professional, left her Chandernagore home in Hooghly district late on Sunday evening along with four others. They were en route to Gaya for an event.

“On the way, we stopped at a petrol pump at Budbud in East Bardhaman to purchase fuel. Suddenly, some youths in another vehicle, who were clearly drunk, started misbehaving with Sutandra. Since it was verbal abuse, we did not react. We didn’t want trouble. After travelling for a while on the National Highway, I spotted a car trailing us at high speed. It was the same vehicle at the petrol pump, with the drunken youths on it. I sped up to try and outrun them, but couldn’t,” Rajedeo told police.

The other car caught up with Sutandra’s vehicle at Panagarh and attempted to block its path, Sharma claimed.

There was a minor collision between the two vehicles, but Sharma apparently swerved to the left and tried to enter a narrow service lane next to a rice mill. The car, which was at top speed, turned turtle after smashing into a public urinal and scrap material shop.

Sutandra was killed on the spot while the others received minor injuries.

“They used filthy language at the petrol pump, but we never thought that they would follow us. This is unimaginable,” said Sutandra’s colleague Mintu Mondal.