To evade check, scrap-laden van mows down home guard

KENDRAPARA: A 26-year-old home guard was killed after being run over by a scrap-laden van during a routine vehicle check at Balabhadrapur Chowk on National Highway-53 in Kendrapara’s Derabish on Wednesday morning.

The deceased was identified as Prabir Mohapatra of Ichhapur in Kendrapara town. He was posted at Derabish police station and recently attached to the road transport office (RTO), Kendrapara.
Sources said the home guard along with the road transport officer and other staff was conducting vehicle check on NH-53 by putting up a barricade.

When a scrap-laden van approached them, the RTO staff signalled its driver to stop. However, the van driver broke through the barricade and ran over Prabir.Motor vehicle inspector (MVI) of Kendrapara Pramod Sahu said, “We suspect the driver intentionally mowed down the home guard to evade fine. Following the incident, we chased the van but the errant driver managed to escape. The vehicle was found at Laxminarayanpur. A search operation has been launched to nab the errant driver.”

Derabish IIC Jyotirmayee Sethi said prima facie, it appears that rash driving resulted in the mishap. A case under sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC has been registered against the van driver. Further investigation is underway.On the day, senior police and RTO officials paid their last respects to Prabir.

Meanwhile, locals alleged that accidents have become a regular affair on the NH stretch at Balabhadrapur Chowk. In absence of enforcement, most of the vehicles do not adhere to traffic rules and ply at high speed. Amarbar Biswal, a social worker, said the 62-km stretch on NH-53 from Paradip to Chandikhole has become a death trap. Narrow curves, road repair works, absence of traffic signals at busy junctions and rash driving are the main causes of accidents on the stretch.