Three people riding a bike died after they collided with a pick-up van on the Teesta river bridge near Jalpaiguri town late on Friday night.

The deceased are Abhishek Barman, 30, Gobinda Ram, 33, and Chanchal Das, 31. Chanchal was from Senpara, in ward number three of Jalpaiguri town. The other two were residents of Dakshin Sukantanagar in the Sadar block.

Chanchal and Gobinda were taken to the Jalpaiguri Government Medical College & Hospital, where doctors pronounced them dead. On Saturday morning, Abhishek’s body was recovered from the river.

Locals suspect that when the pick-up van hit the bike, Abhishek was thrown off the bridge. No one realised there had been a third rider, so they did not look for him.

The victims’ families claim that the pick-up van rear-ended the bike. A police source, however, said they collided head-on.

Arindam Pal Chowdhury, the deputy superintendent of police (traffic) of Jalpaiguri, said: “The pick-up van was seized after the accident. The driver has fled, and we are searching for him. Two men were rescued from the spot at night and taken to the medical college, where they were declared dead. On Saturday morning, another body was recovered from the Teesta river. We have initiated a probe.”

Chanchal, a source said, was an electrician by profession. Abhishek worked at a private company, and Gobinda ran a small business.

Their families, however, have no idea why they were travelling together.

“They all live in the same area, but I have never seen my nephew socialise closely with the other two,” said Asim Sen, Chanchal’s relative.

Dinesh Thakur, Abhishek’s relative, said the youth would often travel to Dhupguri and Maynaguri for work. “But for the last two days, he had been working from home. We have no idea why he went out on a bike late at night with the other two,” he added.