In what could be the worst accident taking place due to reckless drunk driving by a truck driver yesterday which killed two person while injuring 18 to 19 pedestrians of kalipuja procession at Silchar town in the Cachar district of Assam.

A case has been registered at Silchar PS and the accused persons Raj Kumar Das (Driver) and Prasanna Ramsiyari (handyman) has been arrested and forwarded to judicial custody.

Dr. Dawipayan Deb who was on duty at Silchar Medical College when the victims were rushed narrated the situation in an emotive post in Facebook.

As an on-duty doctor, I have the first hand experience and have seen how the injured were rushed in today. There was blood, cries and grief everywhere. I have never experienced such a situation in my life before. Young patients coming in with their bodies drenched in blood. As a doctor, I kept aside my emotions and started treating each and every patient like a family but, it moved my heart as well. Within minutes my fellow colleagues rushed to the spot leaving aside their other jobs. From the top of the hospital administration to the interns, all rushed in to help the injured. My empathy to the people who have lost their loved ones. The injured are being taken care of by the best medical team. I request the people of this town to line up tomorrow and donate blood for the injured, because these are the circumstances when we should all unite to save lives. Stay safe, pray for the injured and please don’t resort to any kind of violence.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2563344303757129&id=100002447520277

Though yesterday the local political leadership like Member of Parliament, Dr. Rajdeep Roy and Deputy Speaker of Assam, Aminul Haque Laskar rushed to Silchar medical college and appealed to all concerned to maintain peace and help the victims in all possible ways, but the angry public had burnt down the truck earliar.

As day progressed today some schools gave holidays looking into tense situation of the town particularly in parts where the incident took place and the roads were blocked by public where school students also took part demanding justice and rectify the lapses of the administration particularly the traffic department of the police department.

The incident led to vandalism by rogue element eithin the public and few vehicles were damaged by public in some area. Early in the morning an auto was burnt down in another part of the town. The mob mentality had taken grip of the town it seems with rumour running high.

Looking into these incidents the district Administration felt that it is necessary to clamp Section 144 and thereby prevent any untoward incidents and any further escalation of the situation.

The State Government has taken the decision to compensate the victims and provide free medical treatment for the injured.

It has become a serious concern for the citizen of the Silchar which is repeatedly witnessing fatal accidents due to rash driving and violation of traffic rules by heavy vehicles.

This incident could perhaps be the most classic failure of police department of Assam that needs introspection and necessary changes in modern day policing.