A 25-year-old driver of a hired police patrolling van was allegedly crushed to death by a speeding vehicle suspected of smuggling cattle in the early hours Thursday in East Midnapore’s Nandigram.

Sahadeb Pradhan, the driver, attached to Reyapara police outpost of the Nandigram police station, was trying to stop the alleged smugglers’ vehicle from escaping when he was fatally run over. Pradhan was killed on the spot. Two policemen with him in the patrolling van were injured and have been hospitalised.

While police have not officially confirmed whether the fleeing vehicle was carrying smuggled cattle, the incident took a political twist after Leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, suggested a religious spin to the death, claiming the driver lost his life while protecting traditional faith due to police inaction against goons having proximity tothe TMC.

According to police and local sources, the incident occurred around 4.30am near Reyapara on the Chandipur-Nandigram state highway. A police officer from Nandigram police station said they received a tip-off about a truck with suspected smuggled cattle at Reyapara.

“Our team set up a roadblock to intercept the vehicle. But instead of stopping, the truck driver sped up and rammed our patrolling van, disregarding the presence of our personnel. Sahadeb Pradhan and our officers tried to stop the vehicle, but the driver accelerated and ran over him,” said a police source.

Pradhan and two others were rushed to Nandigram Super Specialty Hospital. Pradhan was declared brought dead. A resident of Reyapara in Nandigram, Pradhan, the sole breadwinner of his family, had been hired along with the vehicle — a Mahindra Bolero — for policepatrol duty.

The incident sparked widespread anger among residents, who staged a demonstration in front of the Reyapara Block Health Centre demanding a thorough investigation and swift arrest of the guilty.

BJP workers also staged a protest near the police outpost, alleging a growing menace of cattle smuggling and demanding justice.

The police started a prob. Still, the suspected vehicle and its occupants were traceless till Thursday evening.

Nandigram MLA Adhikari criticised the administration for its failure to curbcattle smuggling.

In a post on X, he wrote: “The miscreants killed the police driver while trying to steal ‘Nandi Maharaj’from Nandigram.”

Referring to the sacred bull, the traditional mount of Lord Shiva, Adhikari wrote: “While Mamata’s boys were trying to forcibly take away ‘Nandi Maharaj’ from in front of the Siddhanath Shiv Thakur Jiu Temple in Reyapara with the wicked intention of stealing it, they were confronted by Sahadeb Pradhan, a police driver. When stopped, the miscreants brutally murdered him. Sahadeb was not only trying to prevent a crime, but also stood in defense of our cultural and religious traditions. He laid down his life for that cause.”

Adhikari further alleged that a criminal gang from South 24-Parganas has been repeatedly involved in stealing bulls and cows from areas such as Bhupatinagar, Bhagwanpur, and Chandipur in East Midnapore.

Inspector-in-charge of Nandigram police station, Prosenjit Chatterjee declined to comment on Adhikari’sallegations.