Police on Tuesday visited the residence and factory of the owner of the Hyundai Creta SUV involved in an alleged high-speed car chase that left a 27-year-old woman owner of an event management firm dead and four others injured on a highway in the Panagarh area of West Bengal’s Paschim Bardhaman district on Sunday night, officials said.
Also, a three-member team of the West Bengal Commission for Women on Tuesday visited the residence of the deceased after the panel took suo motu cognisance of the matter.
Sutandra Chattopadhyay, 27, a resident of Chandannagar in Hooghly district, was killed while four other occupants of the vehicle she was travelling in, including three of her colleagues and the driver, received minor injuries.
They were headed to Gaya in Bihar for an assignment, it is learnt.
The team from the Kanksa police station questioned the wife and other family members of the SUV owner, Bablu Yadav, 36, who himself is believed to be behind the wheel at the time of the incident.
No arrests were made in the case till filing of the report on Tuesday evening amid Suchendra’s family disputing the police’s claim that it was not a case of car chase or harassment as alleged but of road rage.
Kanksa Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Suman Kumar Jaiswal told mediapersons, “The search is on for Bablu Yadav and others involved in the case. We will arrest them very soon.”
Dismissing the police’s claim that it was a case of road rage, Sutandra’s mother Tanusree Chattopadhyay told mediapersons on Tuesday, “They (suspects) were trying to stop the car so that they could kidnap my daughter. Even our driver Rajdoot (Sharma) has given the same statement. He is an elderly man and never drives rashly. If Bablu Yadav and his associates are not guilty why did they run away in the first place?”
She added, “My husband passed away 10 months ago. She (Sutandra) was our only pillar of support. She was everything for us. I want justice for my daughter. The police should arrest those in that car. These men are openly drinking and we tell our daughters to hide themselves in a room just because of such hooligans.”
“My daughter was not safe in her own state. The state government is giving Rs 1,000 for Kanyashree but kanyas (girls) are not safe here. The state is giving Laxmi Bhandar but what is the point of giving it if Laxmis (women) are not safe.”
Speaking to The Indian Express, West Bengal Commission for Woman Chairperson Leena Gangopadhyay said, “A three-member team visited the deceased’s residence today. The team will record the statements of the mother, relatives, the car driver and those travelling with the victim. We took suo motu cognisance so as to ensure the police submit a report within 15 days. They will share all the evidence with us.”
A Crime Investigation Department (CID) team also visited the Kanksa police station where the two cars involved in the incident were taken into custody as part of the investigation.
Meanwhile, the mother of the RG Kar Medical College rape-murder victim spoke to Tanusree Chattopadhyay on phone. “All I told her was that we are with her and will fight for justice.”
Speaking to reporters at the Raj Bhavan in Kolkata, Governor CV Ananda Bose said, “Everyone should take it seriously. The state government should take serious steps to instil confidence in women in the state.”
BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul also visited the deceased’s Chandannagar residence. “The police are once again trying to cover up the entire issue like they did in the RG Kar case. The girl would have been alive if there was police patrol (on the highway). The police would have intercepted the cars. There is no security of women in Bengal. It is sad that a woman chief minister tries to blame the victim and protects the culprits. We will stage a protest in front of Kanksa police station tomorrow demanding justice in the case,” she said.