Three young women on their way to participate in Rath Yatra celebrations in Puri on Saturday died after they were run over by a bus on a highway connecting Bhubaneswar and the coastal pilgrim town, police said.
The incident took place near Pipili over a bridge when the three women, who were travelling on a two-wheeler, were hit by a motorcycle following which they fell down on the road and came under the wheels of a government bus.
While two died on the spot, the third woman succumbed to her injuries while being taken to Pipili community health centre, Pipili police station inspector-in-charge Soumendra S Tripathy said.
The deceased women were identified as Rimijhimi Priyadarshini Sahu, Elina Das, and Kajal Das. While two were from Kendrapada district, the third one was a resident of the Old Town area of Bhubaneswar.
The bodies were sent for post-mortem examination and a probe was launched.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi expressed grief over the death of three women and extended condolences to the bereaved families of the deceased.
He also announced a compensation of ₹4 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased persons from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.
{{/usCountry}}He also announced a compensation of ₹4 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased persons from the Chief Minister's Relief Fund.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, a youth, identified as Shibaram Behera, died after coming under the wheels of a chariot during Rath Yatra in Shikula village under the jurisdiction of Purushottampur police station in Ganjam district on Friday.
In another incident during Rath Yatra celebrations in Bhadrak, a boy identified as Soumyaranjan Raut (14) died after a DJ vehicle used for the celebrations overturned at Anaharapur village in Dhamnagar block of the district on Friday night, police said.
Soumyaranjan's father had died just eight months ago, Dhamnagar police station inspector-in-charge Gopal Krishna Jena said.