Two leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were reportedly killed after a dumper hit the car they were travelling in in Odisha’s Sambalpur district on Sunday, police said.
The deceased were identified as Debendra Nayak, BJP’s Goshala mandal president and Muralidhar Chhuria, a former sarpanch, reported news agency PTI, adding that both of them were close to senior party leader Nauri Naik.
The incident took place around 1.30 am on National Highway (NH) 53 in the Burla police station area, police said and added that there were six people in the car, including the driver, who were going to Kardola from Bhubaneswar.
After the accident, all six persons were taken to a nearby hospital where doctors declared two of them dead.
Survivor says it was a ‘deliberate collision’
One of the survivors, Suresh Chanda, alleged that someone might have tried to hit their vehicle “intentionally”.
“The vehicle hit our car from behind twice. Suspecting someone trying to hit our vehicle intentionally, the driver turned the car towards a rural road from the highway near Kantapalli Square. Still, the dumper chased our vehicle and hit it badly. As a result, the car overturned,” PTI quoted Chanda as saying.
Chanda said te dumper hit their car thrice, adding that he was conscious till the first two hits on the highway, but lost sense when the third hit happened.
“I am sure that someone intentionally caused the accident. By mistake, one can hit a vehicle once. Why would someone be hit thrice from behind?” asked the injured BJP worker.
After visiting the injured persons, Naik, a former MLA of Rengali, alleged that it was not an accident but a “deliberate collision”.
“Someone has deliberately hit their vehicle thrice,” Naik said.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo said cops have seized the dumper and detained its driver.
“As the family members of the deceased persons alleged that it was done intentionally, we will investigate that angle,” SP Kumar added.
