Mamata’s convoy hit by lorry, IB man injured

KOLKATA - A lorry hit a car of Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s convoy Monday evening at Kolaghat bridge in East Midnapore district when she was returning to the city after her meeting in Maoist-affected Lalgarh. The Trinamool Congress leader alleged that the lorry had targeted her car.

“With Kolaghat bridge under repair, a part of it is closed. So we release vehicles from each direction in phases. Due to the VIP movement we stopped all other vehicles. While all other vehicles stopped, the driver of one lorry coming in the same direction could not apply the brakes on time and hit an Intelligence Bureau (IB) car in the convoy,” East Midnapore district magistrate Archana told IANS over phone.

The IB car driver got a minor head injury and was released after treatment at a private hospital. “Everything is under control. The lorry has been seized and its driver arrested,” she said.

An investigation has been ordered into the incident. Banerjee, however, alleged that the lorry had tried to hit her car. “It was a deliberate attempt to hit my car and cause an accident.”

“The vehicle was trying to overtake from the left for a long time. I was sitting to the left of the driver. When the lorry hit the IB car just behind my car, the IB car tried to protect me and hit my car.

“The driver of the IB car then sustained a head injury,” she said.

Asked whether it was a deliberate attempt to cause an accident, Banerjee said: “I don’t know what all is happening. What all happens in Bengal.” After Banerjee reached home in South Kolkata, her personal physician had to be called in as she was feeling uneasy.