A man died after he was allegedly knocked down on Thursday night by a car belonging to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari's convoy at Chandipur in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal, locals claimed. According to the police, the deceased, identified as Seikh Israfil, was crossing the road near a petrol pump when the car hit him. However, police are yet to confirm whether the said vehicle was a part of the Nandigram MLA's convoy, PTI reported.
The accident triggered a road blockade by locals for over an hour. As per PTI, locals further alleged that the convoy didn’t stop even after the accident.
A senior district police official said, "The deceased Seikh Israfil was crossing the NH near a petrol pump when he was hit by a car at 10:30 pm and declared ‘brought dead’ at a local hospital. We are yet to confirm if the said car is part of the convoy of Suvendu Adhikari as claimed by some people”.
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According to India Today, an eyewitness said that the man was on the right side of the road while the convoy was coming from the left.
"The man was on the right side of the road and the convoy was coming from the left side. Suddenly, one of the cars in the convoy moved to the right side of the road and hit the man," Rafizul Ali told India Today.
A protester and eye-witness told India Today, that he was having tea at a local shop at the time of the accident, just a few metres away from where the incident took place,
Adhikari or any other leader from the saffron party did not comment on the issue. The Leader of Opposition (LoP) was returning from a party programme at Moina.