A Tripura road accident near Udaipur on the Agartala-Sabroom National Highway killed veteran journalist Biman Dhar and his grandson Rajib Paul on Thursday, after the car they were travelling in collided with a bus and fell into a roadside ditch, police said.
Dhar, 82, was travelling towards Udaipur in the car, which was being driven by Paul, 30. The collision took place near Kariya Mura, a location along National Highway 8 in Tripura. Following the impact, the car veered off the highway and fell into a ditch beside the road.
Villagers reached the accident site and attempted to rescue the two occupants before emergency responders arrived. Dhar and Paul were taken to Gomati District Hospital in Udaipur, where doctors declared them dead on arrival.
The accident has again placed attention on the risks faced by motorists on highway stretches where a collision can quickly push vehicles off the carriageway. In this case, the car left the road after the impact and ended up in a ditch, making the roadside environment part of the incident’s consequences.
Police said the bus driver fled the scene after the collision. The driver’s departure leaves the immediate investigation dependent on the police examination of the crash site, the vehicles involved and accounts from people who reached the location after the accident. The supplied report does not provide details of any arrest or explain whether the bus was identified after the driver left.
Dhar was a veteran journalist from Tripura. He is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter, who live in Kolkata. Paul had come to Agartala for Durga Puja when the accident occurred, according to the report.
The deaths also highlight the wider public-safety importance of response conditions on highway corridors. Villagers were the first to attempt a rescue at the site, while the victims were subsequently taken to the district hospital in Udaipur. The report does not specify the time taken by emergency responders to reach the crash location or whether any other passengers were involved.
Tripura Chief Minister expressed grief over Dhar’s death and extended condolences to his family. Police are investigating the collision and the bus driver’s reported flight from the scene.
