Post-b’day party joyride on new bike turns fatal for two teens
Times of India | 6 May 2025
12 Kolkata: A night of birthday celebrations and a joyride ended in tragedy when four teenage friends, all riding a single bike without helmets, crashed into a guard wall on the Ultadanga flyover in the early hours of Monday. Two of them died on the spot while the other two are fighting for their lives at a private hospital in Tiljala. The deceased were identified as Md Shoaib (19) and Rahman Sheikh (19)
The accident occurred around 5.30 am as the group, residents of the Beniapukur area in Park Circus, were taking a ride on a new cruiser bike after partying all night. According to police, the bike was travelling at excessive speed when the rider, Shoaib, lost control while negotiating a bend on the Lake Town-EM Bypass flyover, causing the two-wheeler to slam into a railing. All four were thrown off. The impact was so severe that bloodstains were found on the metal safety cage installed on that part of the flyover.
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"That portion of the flyover has tall steel safety nets, which prevented the youths from falling off the flyover onto the road below. But even then, the impact was enough to kill two of them at the spot," said an officer.
The two injured youths have been identified as Shoaib's brother Md Sohel and their friend, Md Shahrukh.
Sohel is reported to be in a critical state.
The same bend on the Ultadanga flyover has been the site of multiple accidents in the past. In response to several fatal incidents where riders fell off the flyover, the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA) had installed iron safety cages to prevent such incidents.
Shoaib and Sohel's father, Md Khurshid, a security guard working at a Topsia apartment complex, broke down while recalling that his sons returned home around midnight after attending an invitation at Mullickpur. "They left around 1.30 am on Monday, saying they were going to celebrate a friend's birthday. I don't know whose bike they took. I only came to know about the accident in the morning when a policeman called," Khurshid said, while waiting outside the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital morgue. "It's like my entire world has crumbled. We are ruined."
Khurshid added his younger son was critical when he reached RG Kar hospital. "We shifted him and the other youth to a private hospital in the afternoon," he said.
Rahman's mother Afroz Begum was inconsolable. "I had only one child. Who will take care of me now? He said he was just going for a quick ride and never returned home," she said.
Rahman was a mason specialising in marble work while Shoaib worked in a sandal manufacturing unit, family members said.
"The flyover has a speed limit of 30 kmph for two-wheelers, and, in this case, CCTV footage shows the youths riding at speeds of 80 kmph-90 kmph. There were violations at every stage — overspeeding, carrying excess passengers, and not wearing helmets. We want to appeal to the public, especially young riders, to follow traffic rules, avoid reckless driving, and always wear helmets," the officer said.