12 Howrah: An IT engineer died after being hit by a train while crossing the railway tracks with earphones on near Padmapukur Station on the Howrah-Santragachhi line of the South-Eastern Railway on Saturday morning.
Shalimar Railway Police reported that the deceased, Ankita Patra (27), was a resident of Bengal Para in Santragachhi. She was an executive engineer of an IT company in Salt Lake and was returning home after a night shift around 6.30 am. Cops said Ankita was talking over the phone while crossing the railway tracks at the time of the accident. Though the loco driver of Shalimar Weekly Superfast Express honked repeatedly, she did not hear it.
Social worker and Howrah court advocate Omprakash Singh mentioned that they have conducted many awareness campaigns against using earphones while walking on roads or railway tracks, yet six such accidents occurred at Howrah in the past nine months.
Ankita's uncle, Biswajit Patra, said over the phone, "Ankita had one sister, and their father, Tarun Patra, is a teacher at Jagacha High School. Ankita had joined this IT company in Salt Lake Sector V just three months ago. Her marriage was planned for next year." He added, " We had advised her to remove her earphones while travelling, but she insisted on keeping them on due to important calls. Her father's health has severely deteriorated after hearing about her death."
An eyewitness, Mohsin Hossain, said there was dense fog when the accident occurred.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, and Mini Crossword.