india

Updated: Sep 02, 2019 16:01 IST

Five people, including civic volunteers, were killed and a few others injured when a truck rammed into a roadside tea stall in Bengal’s South Dinajpur district.

The accident took place around 3.00 am on Monday at a spot about 400 km away from Kolkata.

According to the police, those killed were identified as Tafajjal Miyan (28), Ayan Das (27), and Prakash Das (28), Binay Haldar (27) and Nimai Roy (60). The first three people were civic volunteers and were attached to the Gangarampur police station.

Four people died on the spot. Prakash Das breathed his last at Raiganj Hospital.

The condition of another civic volunteer, Bidhan Das, was critical.

“The accident happened when a truck rammed into a roadside tea stall. The vehicle was approaching a bridge on the Punarbhaba River. Three of those who lost their lives were civic volunteers,” said Prasun Banerjee, Superintendent of South Dinajpur district police.

Police officers said that the driver of the vehicle and his assistant were on the run.

According to locals, the tea stall near the bridge remains open throughout the night and every night policemen and civic volunteers on duty including some locals gather to have tea. On Sunday night, the tea stall owner went to fetch water from a tubewell asking his customers to wait. At that time the truck ploughed into the stall.

After hitting the stall, the vehicles fell into a ditch by the road.

Worried about road accidents in the state, chief minister Mamata Banerjee personally drives a road safety campaign that has the slogan ‘Safe Drive, Save Lives’.