Eleven people, including four children, were killed and 12 others were injured after a pick-up van collided with a truck in Chhattisgarh’s Balodabazar-Bhatapara district late on Thursday, police said on Friday. Of the injured, three people are in serious condition and have been shifted to a hospital in Raipur, 70 kilometres away, police added.
Police officials, on condition of anonymity, said the driver of the pick-up vehicle, who was also injured, had allegedly consumed liquor and lost control of the vehicle. While the truck driver fled from the spot, his aide was detained.
Balodabazar-Bhatapara superintendent of police (SP) Deepak Jha said the accident took place near Khamariya village around 11pm on Thursday.
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“All the victims were residents of Khilora village, 40 km away from Khamariya village, under Simga police station. They were returning home after attending a function in the village in Anjuni when their pick up van collided head on with the truck,” he said.
All the deceased and injured were occupants of the pick-up van.
Police said their teams reached the spot a few minutes after the incident and found that seven people were killed on the spot.
“Four others succumbed to injuries in Balodabazar hospital. Three critically injured people were shifted to a hospital in Raipur; the remaining nine are admitted in a hospital in the district itself,” Jha said.
The deceased included four young children.
“We have detained an aide of the truck driver who was with him at the time of the accident. The driver, who is from Girdih district in Jharkhand, fled the spot. I have informed Girdih police about the incident and he will soon be arrested,” the SP said.
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A case under section 304 (A) (causing death by negligence) of Indian Penal Code has been registered.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel extended their condolences to the kin of the deceased and announced compensation.
The Prime Minister announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh to the family of the deceased and ₹50,000 to the injured from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
Baghel announced an ex gratia of ₹4 lakh to the kin of the deceased and ₹1 lakh to the injured.