Uluberia: A motorcyclist had his head ripped off while his pillion passenger suffered severe injuries when the two-wheeler skidded on NH6 and crashed into a guardrail on Tuesday, police said.

The motorcyclist, in his early 30s, is still to be identified, the police said.

The pillion passenger, admitted to Uluberia Sub-divisional Hospital, is not in a condition to speak, an officer at Uluberia police station said.

The youth was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident but his head got severed from the body on impact, the officer said.

The two were headed towards Kolaghat when the accident occurred.

Many people told cops the youth was speeding, the officer claimed.

People of the area alerted the police.

"We removed the body and the head from the road and got the other person admitted to hospital," the officer said.

"The injured person was unconscious when we took him to hospital."

The stretch of the highway passing through Uluberia and Bagnan has witnessed several accidents, according to police records.

"At least 13 people were killed in accidents on the road in the past three months," another officer said.

"During the same period, at least seven pedestrians were mowed down by speeding trucks on the stretch between Uluberia and Bagnan. In most cases, speeding and reckless driving are to blame."

Cops have sent the motorcycle for a mechanical test to ascertain if any technical fault had led to the accident, the police said.

Pedestrian hit

A state bus hit a pedestrian when he was crossing the road near Fairlie Place around 4.25pm on Wednesday, the police said.

Asit Kumar Ganguly, 65, a resident of Hooghly, was taken to Calcutta Medical College and Hospital for treatment.

Officers of Hare street police station seized the bus that plies between Usti and Howrah but the driver managed to flee, the police said.