Kolkata: A 30-year-old youth died and his friend was critically injured after their bike collided head-on with a car near Urbana in Anandapur early on Saturday. Police said both were riding without helmets and were in an inebriated state while out pandal-hopping.The accident took place around 4 am at the junction of Chowbhaga Road and Anandapur Road under Anandapur PS. According to police, the two were travelling along Chowbhaga Road towards Anandapur when their bike collided with an oncoming car as they turned towards Anandapur Road.The impact threw both off the motorcycle. The rider, Pratyush Panai (30), sustained severe head injuries. He was rushed to NRS, where doctors declared him dead. His friend riding pillion, Prasun Kumar (27), suffered serious injuries and was admitted to Ruby Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment.Kumar, a resident of Gandhinagar in Godda district of Jharkhand, is an engineering student at Chowbhaga and was possibly returning to his college hostel when the accident happened. The driver of the car allegedly fled the spot, leaving the vehicle behind. Police have launched a search to identify and trace the driver.Police said preliminary findings indicated that neither the biker nor his pillion rider was wearing a helmet. “It seems both the men were intoxicated. The circumstances leading to the collision are being probed,” said a senior officer of Kolkata Police.
