The Eastern Voice Correspondent
Arwal. Four people died tragically and two others were critically injured in a horrific head-on collision between a Hyva truck and an auto-rickshaw on the Patna-Aurangabad National Highway (NH-139) near Fatehpur Sanda, under the jurisdiction of the Arwal Sadar police station, on Saturday. Chaos ensued in the area following the accident, and enraged villagers blocked NH-139 for about an hour to demand compensation.
According to reports, the collision between the speeding Hyva truck and the auto-rickshaw was so severe that the auto-rickshaw was completely mangled. Screams and cries filled the air at the scene. Two people died on the spot, while two others succumbed to their injuries during treatment at the Sadar Hospital.
The deceased have been identified as Rajgir Ram and his wife Manisha Devi (residents of Parasi village under Parasi police station), Amarjit Kumar (resident of Gulli Bigha), and Ranjit Rajvanshi (resident of Bhadasi under Sadar police station).
Two injured persons are undergoing treatment at Sadar Hospital, Arwal.
Upon receiving information about the incident, the Sadar police arrived at the scene and initiated relief and rescue operations. The police sent all the bodies to Sadar Hospital for post-mortem examinations. The bodies were handed over to the families after the autopsies.
Following the accident, angry villagers blocked NH-139 for approximately an hour, demanding compensation and strict action against the person responsible. Long queues of vehicles formed on both sides of the road, bringing traffic to a complete standstill. Police and administrative officials arrived at the scene, pacified the crowd and assured them of all possible assistance under government provisions as well as appropriate action; following this, the blockade was lifted and traffic flow was restored.
According to the police, the driver of the Hyva truck abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene after the accident. The police have seized the truck and launched a search operation to locate the absconding driver. An investigation into the matter is underway.
