Three persons were killed and two others injured in two separate road accidents in the state late on Saturday night.
According to the police, the first incident took place at Rautara area of Contai in East Midnapore when a car rammed into a truck which was parked on the side of the road, killing two persons.
Police are yet to ascertain the identity of the victims though. The local residents put up a road block following the accident and also staged a demonstration in front of the police officer who reached the spot upon being informed about the incident. This led to a huge traffic jam in the locality and vehicles were stranded till senior police officers pacified the mob and lifted the road block.
Local residents told the police that a Maruti van was running at a high speed when the driver lost control and rammed into a truck which was parked by the side of the road. The incident took place on Saturday night. Locals participated in the rescue operation and rushed the victims to Contai sub-divisional hospital.
The local people also staged a demonstration in front of the police alleging that people, especially truck drivers, consume alcohol in the road-side eateries after parking their vehicles on the side of the road. This leads to frequent road accidents. The people also urged the police to take action against the eateries that sell alcohol.
In another incident, a car driver was killed when a speeding trailer hit the vehicle on Chandrakona Road near Garbeta late on Saturday night. The driver of the car was taking a turn the on road when the trailer hit the car. The driver died on the spot. Another truck driver managed to catch the driver of the trailer. After being informed, the police reached the spot and sent the body to Midnapore Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem. Traffic movement remained suspended for nearly one hour. Police arrested the driver of the trailer and seized the vehicle.