4 killed, 7 injured as overloaded vehicle rolls down

Ill-fated vehicle after accident in district Doda. -Excelsior/Rafi Choudhary
Ill-fated vehicle after accident in district Doda. -Excelsior/Rafi Choudhary

Ajay Raina
DODA, Oct 23: Pall of gloom descended on village Dadni today when four of its habitants lost their lives in a tragic road accident while seven others including three minors suffered grievous injuries. The ill-fated vehicle was not only overloaded but also violated Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Government to contain COVID-19 pandemic.
As per reports, a Tata Sumo bearing registration number JK06-5717 was on its way to Hambal from Doda when the driver lost control over it and the vehicle rolled down at village Dadni near Hambal in tehsil Marmat resulting into on the spot death of three passengers and injuries to eight others including 3 minors.
On getting information, police team rushed to the spot and started rescue operation.All the injured persons were shifted to GMC Doda where one more injured succumbed to his injuries raising the toll to 4. The other injured persons were undergoing treatment, when last reports came in.
The deceased were identified as Ishtiaq Ahmed, son of Mohammad Akram, Om Raj, son of Prem Nath, Mohammad Ayoub (driver), son of Mohammad Sadiq and Ram Prasad (Government teacher), son of Gori Lal, all residents of Dadni Marmat.
The injured were identified as Jameela Begum, wife of Ishtiaq Ahmed, Geeta Devi, wife of Om Raj, Suresh Kumar, son of Kuldeep Singh, Pratiksha Thakur (12), daughter of Ram Prasad, Naiba Banoo (2 ½), daughter of Ishtiaq Ahmed, Ram Prasad, son of Gori Lal, Manju Devi, wife of Ram Prasad and Male Baby (6 months), son of Ishtiaq Ahmed, all residents of village Dadni, Tehsil Marmat.
A case under relevant sections has been registered at Doda Police Station and investigation started to ascertain the cause of the accident.
It is pertinent to mention here that Jammu and Kashmir administration had decided to impose hefty fines on people violating the Coronavirus management guidelines and the SOP is required to be implemented by the Deputy Commissioners in the areas of their respective jurisdictions.
However, the ill-fated vehicle was not only plying with more persons than its sitting capacity but also in violation of the SOP issued in wake of COVID-19 pandemic.
“Private vehicles especially Tata Sumos are plying on roads with more passengers than their sitting capacity. There is no check on these vehicles especially in the mountainous areas of Jammu and Kashmir”, sources said, adding the ill-fated vehicle was overloaded but it was not checked by the Traffic Police Department.