Three Kolkata youths, 5 from Alipurduar die in 2 accidents

TARAKESHWAR/JALPAIGURI/KOLKATA: Three of four north Kolkata youths on their way to the Shiva temple in Tarakeshwar and five men from Alipurduar lost their lives in two accidents that occurred between late Thursday night and early Friday.
Narkelbagan’s Akash Das, a 26-year-old app-cab driver, and friends Raj Das, a 21-year-old Calcutta Medical College sweeper from Keshab Chandra Sen Street, neighbour Rajesh Das (20) and Chhotu Das (16) left home at 1.30am on Friday for Nimtolla Ghat’s Bhootnath Mandir and then set out for Tarakeshwar.In Balaigari, off Tarakeshwar, the two-wheeler that carried all four slammed into a truck.
Akash, Raj and Rajesh died almost immediately while Chhotu is battling for life, police said. Chhotu has been brought to Kolkata for treatment. The victims’ families had no knowledge of the two-wheeler. Raj’s father Shibnath said his son worked as a sweeper and had married only a month back. Akash, he added, has a son who is less than a year old. “They were well-behaved and stayed away from trouble. We never realised their wish to offer puja in Tarakeshwar (on Shivratri) would lead to their deaths. Our families have been destroyed,” Shibnath said.
Akash’s father and Rajesh’s family have left for Tarakeshwar to bring back the bodies. “The victims were on a vehicle that collided with a truck. Investigations are on,” Hooghly police superintendent Tanmoy Bose said.
Locals protesting against the accident blocked the Baidyabati-Tarakeshwar SH-2 for an hour.
In the accident at Birpara in Alipurduar at 12.30am, all five victims in their mid-30s were drunk, police claimed. Asraf Ali (driver), Barun Sarkar, Manoj Shah, Mithun Das and Sanjay Biswas died on the spot when their MUV hit a stone chip-laden dumper from behind near Demdema tea estate on Asian Highway 48. They were on their way to Jalpaiguri’s Gayerkata from Birpara.
The sixth person in their vehicle, Sibu Mondol, was grievously injured. He was rushed to Birpara state general hospital, from where he was taken to a private nursing home in Siliguri.
The collision was so massive that the dumper’s rear axel broke apart. “The driver rammed the vehicle into the dumper from behind. The manner in which the dumper’s rear axel broke, I would say it was a close shave for its driver and helper,” a police official said.