IANS

Kolkata, Dec 8: A college student was killed in a freak accident when her scarf got entangled in the rear wheel of her friend's bike.

The incident occurred Thursday when Payel Chowdhury, a first-year student of Basanti Devi College, was riding pillion. She suffocated when her scarf got tangled in the wheel. She then hit the railing of the flyover and sustained severe head injuries, police said.

Payel, 21, was bleeding profusely from her nose and mouth when a traffic sergeant took her to the nearest S.S.K.M Hospital.

Police have started a case of "rash and negligent driving causing death" against Abhishek Das, Payel's 23-year-old boyfriend and neighbour. The case has also been forwarded to the fatal squad of Kolkata Police's traffic department for further investigation.

"The bike rider has given two different statements of the accident. Once he claimed the girl's scarf was sucked into the rear wheel of the bike and later said his bike hit the flyover's wall after he lost control. There were no eyewitnesses to the accident," said Jawed Shamim, deputy commissioner (south division) of Kolkata Police.

Moloy Roy, a sergeant with the South Traffic Guard, who took Payel to the hospital said, "I noticed a traffic snarl on the flyover and when I reached the spot, I found a girl gasping for breath. I rushed her to S.S.K.M. Hospital."

The traffic sergeant later picked up Payel's mobile and called up her father, asking him to come to the hospital. By the time her family members reached the hospital, Payel was dead, reports said.