Speeding bus crushes techie to death in New Town; 39-year-old hit while making U-turn
Telegraph | 5 September 2025
Calcutta: A 39-year-old techie working for a software company was crushed under the wheels of a speeding bus while she was making a U-turn on her two-wheeler near the Biswa Bangla Gate in New Town on Wednesday morning.
Banasree Kundu Pal worked for a US-headquartered technology company, police said.
Officers from the New Town police station have seized the vehicle and arrested the driver.
Bystanders told the police that Banasree was attempting to make a U-turn from a cutout on Biswa Bangla Sarani, near the telephone exchange. While making the U-turn, she had slowed down.
“The bus came speeding along the road and hit her vehicle. She fell on the road and the rear wheels went over her,” a senior officer of Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate said.
“We took her to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead. A case of rash driving and negligence has been lodged with the New Town police station. Mechanical experts will examine the vehicle on Thursday. We hope to receive the post-mortem report of the victim by then,” said the officer.
Officers from the New Town police station and those managing traffic rushed to the accident to maintain traffic movement.
The spot where the accident occurred in Action Area I is close to several key addresses, including Hidco Bhavan and Rabindra Tirtha. The Biswa Bangla Convention Centre and the administrative building of the New Town Kolkata Development Authority are also located in the area.
A section of commuters said heavy vehicles, including state and private buses, often tend to speed along the Biswa Bangla Sarani towards Eco Park and the airport after clearing the traffic signal at Biswa Bangla Gate and making a left turn from the rotary.
“The stretch between Biswa Bangla Gate and Eco Park witnesses most of the rash driving by buses headed to the airport from New Town. Making turns from designated cutouts always remains a challenge on this stretch,” said Amitava Pal, a resident of CC Block in New Town.
According to the police, Biswa Bangla Sarani, a key thoroughfare in New Town that stands on the New Garia-Airport Metro corridor, has witnessed a significant growth in traffic volume over the past few years. This corridor has also emerged as the most preferred route for VIP movement to and from the city airport.
“We have been trying to implement several changes, including banning the moving of slow vehicles like e-rickshaws and rickshaws on this road. Deployment of traffic police has been increased,” said an officer.