An elderly man walking along EM Bypass near Ajoynagar died after being hit by an unidentified vehicle on Saturday night.

The pedestrian, Basudev Maji, 75, was trying to cross the road when he was hit by the vehicle and suffered grievous injuries, witnesses who found the man lying on the road told police.

Maji, a resident of Sahid Smriti Colony, was taken to the NRS Medical College and Hospital, where he died late on Saturday.

The police said they were studying CCTV footage to ascertain the identity of the vehicle that hit Maji.

According to police records, more than 55 per cent of the people who died in road accidents in Calcutta in 2019 were pedestrians.

“Pedestrians are most vulnerable to road accidents, especially because of encroached footpaths or lack of footpaths. Because of the absence of footpaths or encroachments, people are forced to walk down the road risking their lives,” an officer said.

In 2019, the number of people who died in road accidents was 267. Of them, 150 were pedestrians. A large number of offending vehicles that hit pedestrians causing their death remains “unidentified” every year.

Earlier on Saturday, another elderly pedestrian — Gauranga Chowdhury, 64 — had died after being hit by a bakery van in the Netaji Nagar area. The van driver was arrested.

Body found

The body of a 29-year-old man was found hanging from the ceiling of a room in the Rabindra Nagar area, Parnasree, on Sunday. The man, Apu Dutta, was declared dead at a hospital, police said.