Bengal Dancer Killed in Accident While Fleeing Drunken Assailants; Police Under Fire from Family and Opposition

Kolkata, Feb 24 (NationPress) In a disturbing event that took place in the West Burdwan district of West Bengal, a dancer and event management professional tragically lost her life early on Monday when her vehicle was involved in an accident. The driver accelerated and swerved to evade a group of intoxicated youths pursuing them. The police have yet to make any progress in locating the suspects, prompting fierce criticism from the victim's mother and opposition politicians.

The victim has been identified as Sutandra Chattopadhyay, a resident of Chandernagor in Hooghly district, West Bengal. Four other passengers in the vehicle sustained minor injuries.

According to the driver, Rajedeo Sharma, he and Chattopadhyay, along with her colleagues, departed from Chandannagar for a professional engagement in Gaya, Bihar late Sunday night.

"We stopped at a petrol station on the National Highway in Budbud, East Burdwan district, to refuel, and the vehicle carrying the intoxicated youths also arrived there. They started hurling abuses at her. We chose to ignore them and continued our journey," he stated.

However, he soon realized that the same vehicle was pursuing them. "They chased us for a considerable distance until Panagarh. Suddenly, they attempted to block our path by overtaking us, resulting in a collision between the two vehicles," Sharma recounted.

In a frantic attempt to escape, Sharma veered towards a service road beside a rice mill but lost control, causing the vehicle to roll over after colliding with a public toilet and a scrap iron shop.

"The lady died instantly," Sharma said.

Chattopadhyay's colleague, Mintu Mondal, who was also in the vehicle, remarked that the youths were heavily intoxicated and their behavior was aggressive from the outset. "They were using vile language towards her. We ignored them to prevent further trouble. We never anticipated that they would ram into our car to stop us," she said.

While the police confiscated the youths' vehicle immediately following the incident on the National Highways at Panagarh in West Burdwan, they have yet to locate the suspects, leaving the victim's mother in despair.

"I demand that the drunken youths face severe consequences. It appears that the police are attempting to cover something up or protect someone. Why, after so many hours, have not a single one of the suspects been located? Is there any semblance of administration in this state?" lamented Tanushree Chattopadhyay, the victim's mother, during a media briefing on Monday evening.

Notably, her husband and father of the victim passed away just nine months prior, and now the loss of her daughter has left her utterly devastated.

Meanwhile, authorities learned that the seized vehicle is registered to Bablu Yadav. Questions are being raised about why the police cannot track down the youths despite having the owner's information.

Opposition leaders have launched vehement attacks against the state government in light of this tragedy. According to BJP state President and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar, women in Bengal are unsafe in all environments, whether in hospitals or on highways.

"A woman was harassed and pursued by criminals on the National Highways, leading to her untimely death. West Bengal has become a perilous place for women. Daily, we witness horrific crimes against women, yet the government remains mute, shielding wrongdoers instead of delivering justice," Majumdar declared.

CPI-M state Secretary and Politburo member Md Salim stated that the police's failure to apprehend the youths demonstrates their influence and alleged that the administration is deliberately attempting to shield them.