SILCHAR, March 7 - In a shocking incident, noted folk singer and the central figure of internationally recognised Bengali music band Dohar, Kalikaprasad Bhattacharjee died in a fatal road accident near Gorap under Hooghly district on the way to Sheuri from Kolkata on Tuesday morning. Kalikaprasad was 47. He is survived by his wife Ritocheta and a five-year-old daughter.
According to sources, Kalikaprasad and his team were on their way to Sheuri for a performance when their car crashed into a culvert and slided onto a pit on the Durgapur Express highway. His team included Niladri Roy, Arnab Roy, Sandipan Paul, Rajib Das and Sudipto Chakraborty. After the incident, the injured were rushed to Burdwan Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared Kalikaprasad brought dead. The inured are undergoing treatment at the hospital. Sources said that his body will be cremated at Keoratala crematorium on Wednesday. Meanwhile, many people thronged his Central Road residence today. The cultural fraternity of Silchar and Barak valley was grief-struck at his sudden demise. Hrishikesh Bhattacharjee, noted artiste and a childhood friend of Bhattacharjee said, �He was our ring leader.� Saumitra Choudhury, another childhood friend said, �My friend was instrumental in carrying forward different brands of music from Barak to the whole world.� Sammilita Sanskritik Mancha will organise a rally on Wednesday at Silchar to pay their tributes to Kalikaprasad.
