A file picture of Park Circus Bridge No. 4

A motorcyclist was killed and the pillion rider critically injured when the two-wheeler collided with an unidentified vehicle on Bridge No. 4 in Park Circus late on Wednesday.

The accident occurred on a stretch that is infamous for rash driving at night and traffic congestions during rush hours.

Police said Imtiaz Khan, 30, and his friend Bikash Kumar Thakur, 20, were on their way home to Kustia in Topsia around 12.15am when their motorcycle was hit by a vehicle bound for the Park Circus seven-point crossing.

“Neither Imtiaz nor Bikash was wearing a helmet,” said an officer of Karaya police station.

The duo were taken to Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, where Imtiaz was declared dead.

“Imtiaz had lost a lot of blood because of injuries suffered on the upper part of his body. Bikash was seriously injured, too, but he is out of danger,” said a doctor in the emergency ward of the hospital.

Bikash has suffered multiple fractures in his hands and legs, the doctor said.

Police sources said the vehicle that rammed into the duo’s motorbike could not be identified as the stretch where the accident occurred was not under the surveillance of any closed-circuit TV camera.

“Imtiaz was a motorbike mechanic and worked at a garage in Mullickbazar. Bikash is an apprentice at the same garage. They were returning home on Imtiaz’s bike when the accident occurred,” said a relative of Imtiaz.

“We are yet to come across any witness. So we haven’t been able to independently ascertain whether any of the vehicle was speeding. The front of the bike has been mangled, which suggests the collision was head-on,” said an officer.

The stretch between the Park Circus seven-point crossing and Topsia, on the Park Circus connector, is infamous for speeding, congestion and lax policing.

The carriageway shrinks by almost a fourth as soon as vehicles ascend Bridge No. 4. Hundreds of autorickshaws plying on several routes in the Tangra-Topsia-Tiljala area further eat up the road space.

In February, a two-month-old baby had died when a packed bus with retreaded tyres toppled and rammed into a divider on Bridge No. 4 while allegedly trying to overtake another bus.

In August, a major accident was averted when the driver of a Volvo bus lost control and smashed into a police kiosk.

When the traffic volume thins, racing bikes rule the stretch.

The road between the seven-point crossing and the Parama roundabout turns into a racing track for young bikers at night. Youths without helmets and other safety gear vroom down the stretch, putting the lives of pedestrians and others at risk.

“The deployment of sergeants and traffic constables is far from adequate considering the importance of the road, which connects the city to the Bypass, Salt Lake and New Town. Forget nights, several crossings remain unmanned even during the day,” said an officer of the Calcutta police’s traffic department.

An officer of the east traffic guard, under whose jurisdiction the stretch falls, said cops were too busy managing the heavy flow of traffic to penalise offenders.