A 65-year-old security consultant died in the heart of Bhowanipore on Thursday afternoon after he was allegedly slapped and pushed on the road by a motorist because he was taking too long to board his Toyota Innova.

The suspected case of road rage unfolded at the busy crossing of Bakul Bagan Road and Ramesh Mitra Road in Bhowanipore around 1pm minutes after Ramesh Behl, a director of Darks Security Consultant, had stepped out of his home for his Beckbagan office.

The motorist sought to place a senseless Behl into the Innova with an apparent intention to help. But he fled from the spot the moment Behl’s son came downstairs after getting their driver’s phone call, the security consultant’s daughter said.

His family took Behl to a hospital but he was declared dead.

“My father had barely left home with a promise to my mother to return early this evening for Karwa Chauth. A few minutes later, our driver called my brother and alerted him about an incident outside our home. By the time he went out, the man had fled with his car,” said Behl’s daughter Pooja.

The motorist allegedly tried to push the Innova with his car. “My father had come out of the car and protested why the motorist was honking so much and why he did not have the patience for the Innova to leave. This man slapped my father and pushed him. My father fell on the footpath and hit his head on a rock,” Pooja said, quoting their driver.

Police said they were examining the available CCTV footage from near the spot. The Behls have provided the police with the last four digits of the red vehicle in which the alleged assailant was travelling.

A case of causing culpable homicide not amounting to murder was registered against an unknown person with Bhowanipore police station later in the evening.

“Preliminary investigation till now suggests that the vehicle was being driven by the owner himself. We will zero in on the vehicle and the person at the wheel soon,” said an officer in Lalbazar.

Satnam Singh Ahluwalia, a family friend of the Behls and the general secretary of an association of private security agencies, said he had known Behl for over 40 years. “The most shocking part was his entire career he gave protection to people and today there was no one to protect him,” said Ahluwalia, chairman and managing director of Kolkata Response Group, a security agency.

Behl, who had been part of the security industry for over four decades, was one of the directors of Darks Security Consultant that has its office in Beckbagan.

He is survived by his wife Ritu, daughter Pooja and son Karan. “My father was the only earning member of the family. After him, the responsibility of the entire family business will come upon me,” Pooja said.