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Three dead, one injured after hit by DM’s car
“It is not immediately known whether the Madhepura DM was inside the car, the occupants of which fled the spot abandoning the vehicle,” Madhubani superintendent of police (SP) Sushil Kumar said.
A 27-year-old woman and her minor daughter were among three people killed while another man was seriously injured after they were hit by the official car of Madhepura district magistrate in Bihar’s Madhubani district on Tuesday, police said.
The accident took place on National Highway 57 in Phulparas area where the car crashed into a roadside railing after knocking down four people.
“It is not immediately known whether the Madhepura DM was inside the car, the occupants of which fled the spot abandoning the vehicle,” Madhubani superintendent of police (SP) Sushil Kumar said.
He said that according to eyewitness accounts, the car was at a high speed and swerved sharply when the driver tried to avoid plowing into a group of people crossing the road.
“Those mowed down by the car included local residents Gudiya Devi (29) and her daughter Arti Kumari (10). Besides, two NHAI workers from Rajasthan, identified as Ashok Singh and Raju Singh, were rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors referred them to Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital (DMCH),” said the SP.
Ashok Singh later died during treatment at the DMCH, police said.
“Locals had blocked the road in protest against the accident. However, the highway has now been cleared for traffic. An FIR will be lodged in connection with the accident and action will be taken against those responsible,” he added.
Eyewitnesses said they saw three people escaping on a bike soon after the accident but could not identify them.
While DM Vijay Prakash Meena wasn’t immediately available for comment, Madhepura district public relations officer (DPRO) Kundan Kumar Singh said the DM was not in the vehicle, which, he said, had gone for repairs.
However, Bihar’s minister for building construction, Ashok Chowdhary, seemed to hint that the DM was there in the vehicle at the time of the incident.
“Madhepura DM is a very sensitive person. But he should have stayed back and shown some sensitiveness and human values,” Chowdhary told a news channel (News 18 Bihar-Jharkhand).
RJD spokesperson Shakti Yadav, too, confirmed the DM’s presence in the vehicle at the time of the accident. “The accident took place after the driver lost control. The DM was on the back seat. He was not driving. Adequate compensation should be given to the affected families,” he said.
