KOLKATA: Club GT, the supercar club in Kolkata that had stopped its weekend rides after the death of their member and businessman Shibaji Roy in an accident during such a ride last month, has restarted their weekend rituals on a new route.Prior to Roy’s death, the club members used to drive along the Second Hooghly Bridge and the National Highway 6 till a café on Gurap, a few kms from the Dankuni toll plaza. But, after re-starting the ride at the beginning of this month, they have limited their exercise within the city limits — till a café on Rajarhat after driving past the Maa flyover, EM Bypass and Rajarhat Expressway.“Shibaji’s death still pains and haunts us and the incident has shaken us so much that none of the riders are ready to take that route any more. Since the accident, I had taken a ride along that road with another friend for once but that was the only occasion we ventured into that road. I wonder if we can ever take that route,” said Parveen Agarwal, a club member and a close friend of Roy.On June 3, Roy (43), one of the directors of ML Roy & Co Sanitations Pvt Ltd (one of the oldest sanitation and drainage solutions firms in the state), who was driving a Ferrari California T of his friend, had allegedly taken a sharp right turn after a truck in front had suddenly slowed down. As a result, the Ferrari rammed into the guardrails of a flyover. An iron rail from the bridge crashed through its windshield and hit Shibaji on his chest even as the airbag was operated. He died an excruciatingly painful death on the spot after being stuck in the car for close to an hour. People tried to bring him out but failed till a crane arrived. The co-rider, Aashna Surana(17), daughter of Roy’s friend and a fellow rider, suffered severe leg injuries and is still undergoing treatment in Singapore.The incident took place near Howrah Domjur on NH-6, around 22 kms from the city, when they were returning from a weekend ride that involved taking friends and family on long drives outside the city in their high-end sports cars.After the accident, for the first time in four years, the group skipped their weekend ritual for the next few weeks. If the memory of the accident acted as a deterrent, the growing police checks along the highway served as another reason for the members to skip the drives.“But we have to keep the cars running. We cannot drive amid heavy city traffic and no one is ready to drive along NH-6, at least at this point of time. So, we have changed our plan. Now, we start early and take the flyovers and the wide stretch of road on Rajarhat Expressway to reach a café there and come back taking the same route,” said Agarwal. On Sunday, too, a group of 12 riders with their prized sports cars, including Aston Martin Virage Coupe, Audi R8, Porsche 718 Boxster and Ferrari 488 GTB, set out for the drive.“The accident has shaken us all. We are strictly adhering to the zigzag format drive and use of indicators even while changing the lanes slightly,” said Suresh Tolani, the owner of the California T that Roy was driving on June 3.

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