Crushed for drink protest

The Maruti Omni with which Mondal was mowed down. Pic:Swapna Bhattacharjee

SUBHASISH CHAUDHURI, TT, Krishnagar, June 4: A 70-year-old farmer in Nadia died under the wheels of a car, allegedly run over deliberately by a man he had warned against drinking in his mango orchard and harassing his granddaughter.

Police have detained a 27-year-old driver, who is accused of knocking Topser Mondal down with his Maruti Omni and then running him over. He was being questioned tonight but had not been arrested.

Topser, resident of Hogolberia village, was walking home around 9.30am when he was knocked down. A short while earlier, he had asked the accused and a friend to leave his mango orchard, where they were allegedly drinking alcohol.

Topser was rushed to Domkal subdivisional hospital in Murshidabad, 20km from Hogolberia. He died while being transferred to Behrampore Medical College, 60km away, later in the day.

"My father became angry when he saw the two drinking in his orchard. They may have stolen some mangoes too. He ordered them to leave. They refused to go and an argument broke out," said Topser's younger son Sukhchand.

He said the daughter of Topser's elder son Nozu arrived on the scene and asked the two young men to leave. The accused then allegedly passed some lewd comments at her.

Sukhchand said the accused had made distasteful remarks to the girl earlier too.

"During the quarrel, he tried to hack my father with a sickle. When neighbours rushed in, he and his friend left, threatening my father with harm," Sukhchand said.

Local people said the accused returned to the spot half an hour later in his Maruti, saw Topser on the road and mowed him down.

"Topser was walking on one side of the road. The accused was coming from the opposite direction. He accelerated and knocked Topser down. He then crushed Topser under the wheels," said Safi Mondal, a resident who claimed to be an eyewitness.

A doctor who examined Topser said the farmer had suffered severe injures.

"His ribs were seriously damaged. The bones had pierced his lungs and heart. His legs were broken and he had suffered a cerebral haemorrhage," the doctor said.

The police have started a suo motu case of unnatural death. Topser's family is yet to lodge a complaint.

Nadia additional police chief (rural) Tanmay Sarkar said: "The role of the young man (accused) is being examined along with his past enmity, if any, with the victim and his family."

He added: "We are trying to see whether it's a case of reckless drunken driving or a planned murder."

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