Kolkata: Two siblings died in front of their father, who is critically injured, after a speeding truck hit their two-wheeler on BT Road in Baranagar on Saturday morning. According to cops, the accident took place near Mallik Colony, close to Ananya Cinema Hall on BT Road, when Abhishek Sau, a resident of Amherst Street in Kolkata, was riding his scooty with his two children to their school. The victims have been identified as Aradhya Sau (9) and Arav Sau (6), both students of a private English-medium school near Dunlop.According to locals, the two-wheeler reportedly lost control while trying to avoid piles of stone chips dumped along the roadside of the Dunlop-bound flank. “The stone chips were being loaded on a motorized van-rickshaw. In a bid to avoid the piles of stone chips, the rider of the vehicle lost its control and it then was hit by a speeding truck coming from behind, throwing all three riders onto the road. The two children came under the truck’s wheels and died on the spot, while their father sustained critical injuries and was admitted to hospital,” a local trader said.The father was first taken to the College of Medicine and Sagore Dutta Hospital and later shifted to a private hospital in Kolkata. Police said none of them was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.“The truck and its driver have been detained, and Baranagar police have launched an investigation. Officers are also examining whether illegally dumped construction materials on the roadside led to the crash,” a senior police officer of the Barrackpore Commissionerate said. The incident sparked widespread anger in the area, with residents alleging that construction materials had narrowed the carriageway and created a serious hazard for motorists. Protesters demanded immediate action against those responsible for dumping the stone chips along the road.The tragedy has revived memories of a similar accident in 2016, when two students from the same school died after a speeding bus hit a scooter on BT Road near Sabeda Bagan in Baranagar.The incident sparked widespread anger in the area, with residents alleging that construction materials had narrowed the carriageway and created a hazard for motorists. A local said the children were wearing raincoats but not helmets when the truck struck the two-wheeler.
