What’s the story?
I-League outfit DSK Shivajians paid a heart-warming tribute to Soumya Mukherjee, an ardent Mohun Bagan fan who passed away in a freak accident recently. The Pune-based club, who travelled to Kolkata to take on the Mariners in the 10th round in the I-League, wore tee shirts reading “Soumya RIP” during their training sessions at the Rabindra Sarovar Stadium.
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Soumya, who was a student of Institute of Engineering and Management, Kolkata was returning home after watching his favourite team play against their eternal rivals East Bengal in the Bengal derby at Siliguri. He met his fate when he was alighting a local train at the Baranagar station.
He somehow lost his balance, tripped over a sack of potatoes and was run over by the speeding train. He suffered several internal injuries and ultimately breathed his last on Monday at the RG Kar hospital.
The heart of the matter
Indian football has come together to provide solidarity to the family of the bereaved, and there have been tweets and messages of condolence from players and officials alike. There has been an outpouring of grief on social media from fans who have come together to stand by a young man whose love for the game and his favourite club was unquestionable.
Apart from the messages, a minute’s silence was observed before kick-off at the match between Mohun Bagan and DSK Shivajians.
Mariner’s Base Camp, the official Mohun Bagan supporter’s group plan to do a candle light march in the memory of their fallen brother.
Parallels from history
There have been instances in the past where fans have faced tragic deaths during or after football games. One of them occurred in 1980, after 16 fans perished in a stampede following a massive commotion at the Yuba Bharati Stadium just after the Bengal Derby. In recent memory, two East Bengal fans died as they met with a bike accident just before the big game this year.
Our Tribute
It is extremely heartening to see the country’s football community come together to stand as one. Rivalries may divide fans, but these are the moments when fans need to stick together and make sure that not only is his memory honoured, but also that people are made aware about of the fact that they need to take utmost care while commuting. No one deserves to go to a football game and not come back home, so we hope that incidents like this never happens again.
Rest in peace, Soumya Mukherjee.
