Overview
- A sport-utility vehicle registered to former Sandeshkhali MLA Sukumar Mahata struck an e-rickshaw and both vehicles fell into a roadside pond on Wednesday, Oct 14, 2026, according to police and multiple reports.
- Two e-rickshaw passengers, identified as Mujibar Rahaman, 47, and his elder sister Mahima Bibi, 50, died at a local hospital while two other occupants were injured with one sent to Kolkata for further treatment.
- Police say the SUV’s driver fled the scene and is absconding, and investigators have opened a probe to determine how the vehicle lost control and caused the plunge into the pond.
- Mahata, who was not in the vehicle, confirmed the SUV belongs to him and suggested the crash followed racing between two e-rickshaws while offering condolences to the families.
- Local residents carried out the initial rescue and the crash has heightened scrutiny because of the vehicle’s political ownership, a probe that could prompt legal action and wider questions about driver responsibility and vehicle custody.