Salt Lake mishap death: Killer driver of car arrested
The Statesman | 15 August 2025
Police in Kolkata have arrested the man accused of causing a crash leading to the death of a 22-year-old food delivery boy yesterday. The suspect, identified as Binod Roy, was detained from Malipanchghara in Howrah after allegedly going into hiding, following Wednesday’s accident.
Officers from Bidhannagar police tracked him down and made the arrest.
The incident occurred near the new bridge in Salt Lake’s AE Block when a four-wheeler lost control, hit two two-wheelers before slamming into a roadside railing, triggering an explosion and setting the vehicle ablaze.
Trapped against the railing, the delivery boy was unable to escape and died on the spot. Passengers in the car were rescued.
The accident sparked anger among local residents, who alleged that the fire brigade arrived late despite being alerted promptly. Crowds pelted stones at firefighters and police, accusing them of negligence. Some claimed officers were more focused on collecting fines and filming the incident than ensuring road safety or rescuing the victim.
Earlier, residents of Kestopur in Kolkata and the victim’s native village in South 24-Parganas have demanded the arrest of the driver involved in a fatal road crash and financial compensation for the family. The victim, identified as 22-year-old Soumen Mondal from Hirannmoypur village under Basanti’s Nafar Ganj gram panchayat, was working as a food delivery rider in the city. Witnesses said he had stopped his bike at a traffic signal with another rider as a pillion when a speeding, out-of-control car struck him from behind, slamming the bike into the roadside railing. The impact caused both the car and the bike to catch fire.
Mondal, son of a migrant labourer working in another state, came from a poor family. Locals said he had taken up delivery work to support his household in his father’s absence.