Dunlop: An Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) professor died after he fell while boarding an auto from the driver's right side on BT Road on Wednesday evening.

C.A. Murthy, a professor in the machine intelligence unit of ISI, was hit by another auto coming from behind, witnesses said.

Murthy, 59, stepped out of the campus around 6.30pm on Wednesday and crossed the road to board an auto from near Bon Hooghly. He lost his balance while trying to take the front seat next to the driver, witnesses said.

No passenger is allowed to the right of the auto driver, according to traffic laws.

"He fell down but the auto driver did not stop. He was still lying on the road when another auto came and hit him from behind before speeding off," said an employee at a shop off BT Road.

Police said Murthy sustained injuries in his head. "We are treating the death as the fallout of an accident. The future course of investigation will be decided based on the autopsy report," said a senior officer of the Barrackpore commissionerate.

Most autos plying between Dunlop and Sinthee carry two passengers to the left of the driver and one on his right.

An auto can carry up to four passengers - three in the rear seat and only one in the front beside the driver, according to transport department rules.

Murthy's colleagues at ISI said he usually took a rickshaw from one of the rear gates of the institute to his home on Tobin Road. But on Wednesday he had an appointment with a dentist and was supposed to go there with his wife.

Murthy's son is a first-year student at Kalyani University and his daughter is studying dental sciences in Bhubaneswar.

Murthy completed his BStat, MStat and PhD from ISI before joining the institute as teacher. He was very popular among his students, colleagues said.