Child dies, five injured in separate accidents in state

Kolkata: A child was killed in a road accident in New Town while five others have been injured some of them critically in another accident that took place at Kharagpur on Monday.

Police said that a child, whose body is yet to be identified, died after being hit by a speeding truck when the victim was trying to cross a road near Patharghata in New Town.

The driver of the vehicle had fled from the spot along with the vehicle immediately after the accident. After seeing the incident, some of the local residents chased the errant vehicle but failed to catch the driver.

The incident triggered tension at Patharghata area. The boy received severe injuries on his body and he had been declared brought dead after being taken to a nearby hospital. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination. The local people told the police that the vehicle was running at a high speed when the driver lost control over the vehicle and hit the child. Police started conducting raids to nab the driver.

In a separate road accident, five persons have been injured when a car they were travelling in was hit by a loaded truck at Lochmapur area under Kharagpur police station on the National Highway 6. The incident took place on late Sunday night.

Police said that the all the injured victims have been identified as Tapas Sahu, Beleswar Sahu, Srikanta Jana, Taresh Mahanti and Shaktiranjan Pati.

Police came to know that the all the victims were going to Bhubaneswar. According to the police, the driver of the car lost control over the vehicle after crossing Debra and hit a loaded truck. The local residents had started the rescue operation before the police rushed to the spot. The injured passengers were immediately rushed to the Midnapore Medical College and Hospital. According to the doctors in the hospital, the health condition of two victims is serious.

After being informed, police reached the spot and started a probe in this connection. The police have seized the car which was badly damaged in the accident. Police are investigating if the driver was in a drunken state while driving the vehicle. According to the preliminary investigation, police suspect that the car was at a high speed as a result of which, the driver could not control the vehicle. The exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained.