12-year-old class 6 student cycling home from tuition crushed under truck in Majerhat | Kolkata News

Anmol Jha’s grief-stricken mother

Kolkata: A 12-year-old boy cycling back from his tuition class was crushed to death by a cement-laden truck barely 200m from his home at Majerhat on Friday afternoon. The incident led to angry protests on the street, with residents questioning the movement of heavy goods vehicles in the city during the day.The class 6 student, Anmol Jha, was taken to SSKM Hospital, where doctors declared him “brought dead”.The accident took place around 12.30 pm on Helen Keller Sarani close to Majerhat station railway crossing and roughly 100 m from the Majerhat Metro station. Police said the six-wheel goods vehicle had entered Helen Keller Sarani from Diamond Harbour Road and hit Anmol’s bicycle from behind as he was crossing the stretch to enter his home. In the impact, as the youngster was thrown onto the road, the boy, along with his cycle, was crushed under the truck’s wheels. The fatal injuries caused instant death, police said.Witnesses claimed the truck driver tried to drive away, ignoring shouts from bystanders, but eventually abandoned the truck and fled. The driver, too, lived in the same locality, police said. Cops from the South West Traffic Guard and Taratala PS arrived at the spot and took Anmol to SSKM, where he was declared brought dead.The tragedy struck the Jha household as they prepared for Chhath. Anmol, his relatives said, was excited for the festival. “My son died right in front of our house and I could do nothing,” his bereaved mother, Gudiya Devi, kept lamenting. Even as the neighbours gathered at the home—Anmol lived with his parents and sister—they decided to scale down their Chhath celebrations.On the street, residents of the area blocked Helen Keller Sarani and staged a demonstration, demanding accountability. Protesters vandalised the abandoned truck, smashed its windshield and scattered the glass shards on the road, demanding to know why a cement-laden truck was permitted to ply a busy thoroughfare in the middle of the day. A large police team arrived to contain the situation, clear the roadblock and remove the truck.The case is likely to be handed to the traffic police fatal squad from the Taratala PS. Police are now checking CCTV footage. “We arrived at the spot in less than five minutes and took the boy to hospital. The quick action managed to contain the agitation to some extent,” said an officer, adding the truck was moved to the Taratala PS.