Two persons were killed and six others, including four women from two families, sustained serious injuries in the early hours of Thursday while travelling to the Maha Kumbh for a holy dip. Their vehicle rammed into a truck from behind in West Burdwan district.
The deceased were identified as Shantanu Mukhopadhyay (65) and Sailen Bandopadhyay (60). The injured include Shantanu’s son Sourav, wife Monosa, and daughter-in-law Ananya, along with Sailen’s wife Rumpa, their relative Seuli Karmakar, and the vehicle's driver, Somenath Chakrabarty.
All the injured were admitted to a state-run healthcare facility in Asansol.
Police said the accident occurred around 1.30 am. "The two families from Bankura district were heading towards Prayagraj.
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The mishap took place near Kulti on National Highway-19 after they crossed Asansol," said Jawed Hussain, Additional Commissioner of Asansol Police.
The families had left their homes in Bankura in a rented vehicle around 10 pm on Wednesday.
The injured driver, Somenath, told the police that he had been driving at a moderate speed.
"The truck was in front of my vehicle. Suddenly, it changed lanes, came in front of me, and stopped to take a U-turn through the gap in the divider. It happened suddenly. My vehicle rammed into the truck before I could slam the brakes," he said to the police.
Somenath mentioned that he had already taken passengers to Prayagraj on three occasions during the ongoing Maha Kumbh.
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