Three persons, including a child, were killed and at least six others injured when a Mayapur-bound bus dashed into the side of a bus coming from the opposite direction on the outskirts of Krishnanagar town on Wednesday afternoon.
The collision occurred around 4.15pm near the Bahadurpur forest on NH12 under the jurisdiction of the Dhubulia police station in the Krishnanagar police district.
According to the police, traffic on the Mayapur-bound carriageway had been diverted to the Krishnanagar-bound lane because of the ongoing repairs on the national highway, forcing vehicles moving in both directions to use a single lane.
Residents, assisted by police personnel, rescued the injured passengers from the mangled buses and rushed them to the Nadia district hospital in Krishnanagar, where three persons were declared brought-dead. Razina Khatun, 26, and Rashid Sheikh, 6 were among the deceased. The third victim hasn't been identified.
The victims were travelling in the Krishnanagar-bound bus.
One of the buses involved in the accident on NH12
The police said the driver of the Mayapur-bound bus was speeding despite the hazardous road conditions and lost control of the vehicle before crashing into the rear end of the Krishnanagar-bound bus.
“Unabated high speed on a common lane on a smoggy afternoon led to the accident, which could have been easily averted,” a senior officer of the Krishnanagar police district said.
Following the collision, traffic was disrupted on NH12 for nearly an hour, causing long queues of vehicles on either side of the stretch. Both buses involved in the accident were seized and taken to the Dhubulia police station for further investigation.
Gold seized
The Calcutta zonal office of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence on Wednesday recovered 4.9kg of foreign-origin gold, valued at approximately ₹6.68 crore, during a special intelligence-led operation near Krishnanagar.
Acting on specific inputs, DRI officials intercepted a motorcyclist at the Laxmigacha crossing while he was travelling from Bara Andulia towards Chapra. Upon examination, the officers recovered 21 yellow metal pieces from his possession, which included gold bars bearing foreign markings, deformed bars and retail gold.
The motorcyclist failed to produce any valid identity documents and, during interrogation, admitted that the seized gold had been smuggled into India from Bangladesh. The contraband has been seized under relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and the accused has been arrested for further legal proceedings.