Excelsior Correspondent
RAJOURI, Mar 21: The people held strong protest and blocked Jammu-Rajouri-Poonch highway for about five hours as a village Numberdar was crushed to death by a car in Chingus area of Nowshera today.
Reports said that the mishap took place near Bassi Bowli when the Numberdar Satnam Sharma (40), son of Late Dev Raj, resident of Sangpora was walking on the road side. A speeding Alto car No. JK-11A/6092 hit him from the back killing him on the spot. The driver who was identified by several people of the area did not stop and sped away from the spot.
The locals flashed message to police which came into action and started chasing the car and the accused who was identified as Rakesh Kumar, son of Karnail Singh, a resident of Narian village.
The people of the area assembled there in large number and started protest demonstration on the road. They raised barricades and stopped the movement of the vehicles on this busy highway at around 12 noon. They also kept the body there on the road for long, demanding immediate arrest of the accused driver. The family members and relatives of the deceased alleged that there was some old between the two families and it was the revenge attack and deliberate murder of Satnam and not mere an accident.
The protesting public raised slogans against the police and Administration and demanded that they will not open the road till the accused is arrested along with vehicle. Later, in the afternoon, the police party led by SI Maqbool managed to trace the car from Bhagla road but the accused managed to escape.
Later, SDM Nowshera, Tehsildar and SHO Rajouri Chaman Gorkha reached the spot and assured to arrest the accused within 24 hours. The agitating people then lifted dharna and allowed movement of vehicles on the road at around 5.15 pm. The body of the deceased was then sent for postmortem to district hospital. A case FIR has been registered against the accused person.
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