Three dead, five injured in road mishap at Odisha's Sonepur

BALANGIR: Three persons died and five others sustained grave injuries after a car rammed into an auto-rickshaw in Sonepur on Tuesday. The incident occurred when the car hit the ill-fated autorickshaw carrying vegetable sapling sellers at Badabahali Chowk under Puintala police limits.

The deceased have been identified as Nadu Biswal (50), Guabati Naik (45) and Satya Pradhan (45), residents of Raghavpali village.

The injured were referred to VIMSAAR, Burla for treatment. Sources said that Snigdharani Suna, an Inspector-ranked officer, was returning to Puintala after finishing her car festival duties in Puri when the car she was travelling in dashed into the autorickshaw.

Both the driver, Ajay Jethi and the police officer managed to flee the spot after the mishap. However, Suna's official uniform was found in the car. Hours later, Jethi was nabbed by the Sonepur police with the help of Balangir police.

He was taken to Tarbha police station for further interrogation and forwarded to court. The incident triggered angry reactions and locals blocked the Balangir-Sonepur road for a long time. The mob demanded strict action against the culprits and compensation for the victims' families.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik expressed deep condolences over death of the three persons and announced Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia towards each of the families of the deceased. SDPO Pushpanjali Pingi confirmed the presence of inspector Suna in the car, adding that she is yet to be traced since her phone is switched off.