Doctor arrested for fatal BT Road crash, granted bail; lawyer cites 48-hour shift exhaustion
Telegraph | 29 January 2025
The junior doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital who was arrested for allegedly causing a road accident that killed a rickshaw-puller on BT Road on Saturday evening was granted bail on Sunday.
His lawyer told the Sealdah court that the doctor had dozed off after finishing a 48-hour shift at the government hospital.
Debojit Biswas, a third-year postgraduate trainee at RG Kar, was at the wheel of a car that allegedly hit a rickshaw-puller on Saturday. He tried to flee but hit another vehicle while trying to do so, police said.
“Biswas had abandoned the car and fled. He was arrested later,” said an officer.
The doctor was produced before the Sealdah court on Sunday, where his lawyer submitted that he had dozed off after being on a 48-hour shift.
The court granted him bail.
The police said Biswas’s car was moving north towards Sinthee at a high speed when it hit the rickshaw.
“While rushing away, the car hit a stationary vehicle. The offending vehicle came to a halt after hitting the second vehicle. The man at the wheel fled leaving the car behind,” said an officer at Cossipore police station.
The rickshaw-puller, identified as Jagadish, was critically injured. He was taken to RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, where he was declared dead.
A case has been registered at Cossipore police station. The police said they seized the car and tracked down the owner through its registration number.
“Debojit Biswas, the owner, is a doctor by profession. He was arrested from his home on Saturday night,” an officer said.
The cops said the car would be sent for mechanical tests to ascertain whether a snag was responsible for the accident.