Ruma Chattopadhyay rammed by car on Noida Expressway; family alleges murder
A 51-year-old former athlete and coach of the national cycling team was killed in a road accident near Sector 45 on the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway on Tuesday morning.
Ruma Chattopadhyay was on her motorcycle behind a 25-strong team of cross-country cyclists when a speeding car rammed her from behind and killed her instantly. Ruma was taken to the nearby Kailash Hospital but in vain.
Her family suspects murder and has asked the police to consider the angle. “The manner in which the accident took place indicates that her motorcycle was rammed with a motive to kill her. How could any vehicle drive into the midst of a cycling team unknowinglyIJ” a close relative of Ruma pointed out.
Ironically, an official of the cycling federation said the camp was supposed to be organised in Patiala, as Delhi roads are considered dangerous. However, the Sports Authority of India (SAI) didn’t permit this and hence they camped at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. The camp was scheduled from May 9 to August 4.
“The group had left for practice early in the morning and the accident took place while they were returning to Delhi,” said assistant secretary of the Cycling Federation of India (CFI), VN Singh.
A four-member squad was to participate in the UCI World Junior Track Cycling Championship at Glasgow, Scotland. The team was also supposed to visit Switzerland for training.
Ruma, a resident of Kolkata, had been working with BSNl. She was a national champion, who took to cycling in 1986 and was attached with the national team for more than a decade. She was India’s cycling coach at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.