Speeding car crashes into fruit shop in Durgapur, one dead

A 55-year-old man was killed and a child was critically injured after a car driven by a retired CRPF officer crashed into a roadside fruit stall in Durgapur of Paschim Bardhaman district. The accident occurred near the sub-divisional hospital area in Bidhan Nagar under the New Township police station limits, triggering tension and commotion in the locality.

According to police sources, the car bearing a police marking was reportedly moving at high speed from the Hudco More area toward Steel Market when the driver lost control. The vehicle suddenly rammed into a fruit shop near a rotary in front of the hospital, where several people were standing at the time. The deceased has been identified as Gopal Prasad Barnwala, a resident of the Swapna Market area of Bidhan Nagar in Durgapur. Witnesses said he was buying fruit at the stall while holding the hand of a child when the car ploughed into them, leaving both seriously injured. They were rushed to the Durgapur Sub-Divisional Hospital, where doctors declared the man dead.

Several others sustained minor injuries and were treated and released after primary medical care. Police detained the retired CRPF officer and took him to the Bidhan Nagar outpost of New Township police station for questioning. Authorities said an investigation is underway to determine how the vehicle was being driven at such speed in the crowded area.