9 killed in Bihar road accidents
CHIEF MINISTER NITISH KUMAR EXPRESSED HIS GRIEF AND ORDERED ADEQUATE TREATMENT TO THE INJURED
BETTIAH / SASARAM: At least nine people including four women pilgrims were killed and 34 others injured in two road mishaps in Muzaffarpur and Rohtas districts on Wednesday, police said.
In the first incident, at least five people were killed and eight injured after the vehicle in which they were travelling collided with a truck in Muzaffarpur district on Wednesday morning.
Providing the information, Rampur Hari’s station house officer (SHO) Sujeet Kumar said the incident occurred when the driver of the vehicle in which 13 people were heading towards Balgarh village in Muzaffarpur district rammed into a stationery truck at Mukusdu on NH 77 under Rampur Hari around 2.30am.
“The bodies have been handed over to the family members after the postmortem,” the station house officer said, adding the two vehicles involved in the accident had been seized.
Search for the driver of the truck is underway, said police.
The deceased have been identified as Sohan Mahato, Bipin Mahato, Kari Dhangar, Pradhyuman Dhangar and Inder Kumar Dhangar - residents of Balgarh in Muzaffarpur district.
Bhagya Narayan Dhangar, Pradhyuman Dhangar’s father said all the victims who belonged to the same village had gone to Chakiya to take part in a wedding ceremony. “The scene of the accident site was heart wrenching. All the deceased look to have suffered heavy injury in the head,” he said.
When contacted, Sahiryar Akhtar, additional police officer (ASP), Muzaffarpur (East) said, “While five victims died on the spot, others were rushed to SKMCH for treatment.”
In the second mishap, four women pilgrims were killed and 26 injured, five of them critically, when a pick-up van carrying them fell into a 200-feet ditch on Kaimur hills near Gaighat under Chenari police station of Rohtas district.
Hailing from Bhojpur and Buxar districts, all the deceased and injured persons were close relatives and were going to mythological Gupteshwar Mahadev cave temple on the hills for Mundan (head tonsuring) ritual of a child from Vishvapura village under Shahpur police station of Bhojpur district, police said.
The deceased were identified as Parmeshwari Kunwar (60) and Meena Devi (45) of Buxar and Chandrawati Devi (55) and Tetara Devi (45) of Bhojpur district.
The injured were taken to the community health centre at Chenari where doctors referred five of them including the child Pawan Gonr (4), Kanchan Devi, Ranjan Kumar and Daroga Gonr to the trauma centre in the district hospital at Sasaram, Chenari SHO Ranjan Kumar said.
A forest department team had also joined the police and health officials in rescue operations as the place falls under Kaimur Wildlife Sanctuary.
Sasaram sub-divisional police officer Ashutosh Ranjan said four women died and 26 persons were injured in the accident. Critically injured had been referred to the district hospital while others were being treated at CHC Chenari. He said at least 30 persons were riding the pick-up van.
When asked how the forest guards allowed such overloaded vehicles to go on the dangerous hilly road in the wildlife sanctuary, Rohtas divisional forest officer Manish Kumar Verma said overloaded four wheelers were not allowed on the road. He said he would inquire into the matter after the rescue and medical assistance operation was over.
Last year, two pilgrims were killed and five injured when a vehicle fell into a ditch in the sink area of Durgawati Reservoir near the same place.
CM Nitish Kumar expressed his grief over the two mishaps and directed officials to provide adequate treatment to the injured.