Supratik Das

An eight-year-old boy on his way to school with his mother on a scooter died after falling off the vehicle and being mowed down by an army truck in Barrackpore on Tuesday morning.

Supratik Das, a student of Class II at a school run by Ramakrishna Vivekananda Mission, was declared dead on arrival at the Barrackpore army hospital. Mother Shyamali, 28, who also fell off the scooter, has been seriously injured and admitted to the hospital. Neither was wearing a helmet.

The Khardah residents were riding down Station Road towards Chiria More in Barrackpore around 6.45am when the accident occurred.

“The scooter was trailing an autorickshaw. In front of Wesley Hindustani School, 50m from Chiria More, the woman tried to overtake the three-wheeler from the right,” recounted Mohan Ram, who witnessed the accident.

The mother and the son fell off the two-wheeler while overtaking the auto. An army truck that was coming from behind ran over the two.

“The driver of the army truck pressed the brakes hard and managed to swerve a front wheel past the mother and the son. But a rear wheel went over the boy’s chest, killing him on the spot. The mother suffered injuries in both legs,” said another witness.

Witnesses said the two-wheeler bore an “L” tag, mandatory for those learning to ride. A transport department official said a person with a learner’s licence could only ride a two-wheeler or drive a four-wheeler under the supervision of a person having the required licence.

Officers in the truck picked up the duo and took them to the army hospital in Barrackpore, barely half a kilometre from the spot.

“Supratik was declared dead on arrival while his mother has been admitted,” said an officer who refused to be named. The military police have started an inquiry, which will proceed along with the police probe.

“We will find out whether the mother has a valid driving licence and will question her after she is in a position to speak,” said Debashish Bej, deputy commissioner of police, traffic, Barrackpore commissionerate.

Accident toll

Mohammed Amin, 22, who was injured in the collision between a hatchback and a Tata 407 truck on Red Road on Monday night, died on Tuesday, taking the death toll in the accident to two. Seven injured are being treated at SSKM, while nine have been discharged.

Girl rescued

A 15-year-old city girl missing since October 10 and traced to Chembur, a Mumbai suburb, was brought back home to Tegharia on Tuesday.