Bengal Dancer Dies in Highway Crash After Alleged Harassment

DURGAPUR:
A high-speed chase on National Highway 2 early Monday ended in tragedy as 27-year-old dancer and event manager Sutandra Chatterjee lost her life after her vehicle overturned. The incident occurred around 12:30 am while she was traveling to Gaya, Bihar, for work.

Chatterjee, a resident of Chandernagore, Bengal, died on the spot, while two of her colleagues sustained injuries. Police have seized both vehicles involved but have not yet made any arrests.

According to Durgapur-Asansol Police Commissioner Sunil Kumar Choudhary, CCTV footage showed that the crash resulted from an overtaking attempt gone wrong. “A white car grazed the woman’s vehicle while overtaking. It appears the woman’s car was chasing the other vehicle when the accident took place,” he stated.

However, Chatterjee’s colleagues, including Mintu Mondal and driver Rajdeo Sharma, narrated a different version. Mondal, who later lodged an FIR, alleged that the occupants of the white car harassed Chatterjee over a 10-km stretch, repeatedly ramming into their vehicle.

“There were five men in that car. They kept honking, making obscene gestures at madam, and blocking our way. They chased us till Panagarh, leading to multiple collisions. We were terrified and thought they were robbers,” Sharma said.

Mondal further claimed that the white car’s occupants appeared intoxicated and fled the scene, abandoning their vehicle. “We managed to crawl out of our overturned car, but madam was bleeding and unresponsive. The men stood there for a while before escaping. We caught two of them but had to let them go to help madam,” he added.

Chatterjee was the sole breadwinner of her family after her father, singer Sukanta Chatterjee, succumbed to cancer eight months ago. She supported her ailing mother and two grandmothers while managing her newly launched event management company, Moonwalk, in Gaya.

Her devastated mother, Tanushree Chatterjee, dismissed the police version and demanded justice. “I lost my husband, and now my only child. This is not how she should have died,” she said.