Kazi Samim Raza (in black T-shirt) in a family photo

KOLKATA: Prodded by his wife, who was wary of his one-and-a-half-hour-long strenuous journey on a bike along rickety roads, Kazi Samim Raza had bought a second-hand car last month. But he continued to use his scooter to reach office as he was yet to get a four-wheeler driving licence. On Monday, he was thrown off the scooter while negotiating a treacherous stretch on E M Bypass and came under a bus.

“Since their daughter was born, his wife used to tell him to get rid of his scooter. Prodded by her constant nudge and the deplorable condition of roads, he bought a second-hand car. He had also started to learn driving but was yet to get his hands set on the wheels and get a driving licence,” said Nasimul Islam, Samim’s brother-in-law.

Just a few days before the accident , even Samim had told him that he was planning to let go of the scooter because of the poor condition of the stretch — GT Road, Belghoria Expressway, VIP Road and EM Bypass – he regularly rode to reach his office at Kasba Industrial Estate. “He had plans to give up the scooter and drive to office from his home in his car. But he died even before he could shift to the four-wheel drive,” said Islam.

Samim was even looking for a flat in south Kolkata and was trying to shift to the city to cut down on his travel time. He was the main earning member in the family. The elder brother and his wife are sick and Samim had to take care of their treatment as well. The family is in deep trouble now,” said Mijanur Rahman, a close friend of Samim.

The family members also rued at the fact that Samim taken to a government hospital, 7kms from the accident spot, while he could be easily taken to the nearest private facility. “I don’t know who took the decision of taking Samim to a government hospital, which took a lot of time. Also, the hospital didn’t have the facility to handle critical patients. Police should conduct an inquiry to find out the culprit and take action against him,” said Islam, a resident of Park Circus.

One of Samim’s colleagues, whom he had called immediately after the accident, too, said someone from the accident spot had initially told him that they were taking Samim to Ruby hospital. The colleagues even rushed to the hospital and had made the hospital authorities aware of the accident and that they were bringing in a critical patient, but he never arrived.

“I kept on calling Samim’s number but none responded. I then went up to the traffic guard at Ruby crossing and sought help from an officer about the whereabouts of Samim. The officer checked and told me that the ambulance carrying Samim has already left for CNMC. Some time later, a police officer took the call on Samim’s number and it was a protocol to take an accident victim to a government hospital,” said Debasis Talukdar, the colleague.

