Bhubaneswar: The main accused in the hit and run case of Ganjam, a truck driver, was allegedly involved in another road accident that had claimed two lives about nine years back. This was revealed during the probe, according to a news report published in The New Indian Express. The accident on Haladiapadar road overbridge in Berhampur in Ganjam district has led to five fatalities in January.
The officers of CID-CB of Odisha Police has submitted a report regarding this to the Home department. The accused, Pradeep Jani, had killed two persons in the road accident in Digapahandi previously.
Police said that the Ganjam accident victims, Jagan Nahak and Rakesh Nahak of Nimakhandi, were travelling on their bike, when Jani’s truck hit their vehicle. The duo was returning to their village. They died on the spot. When Jani was trying to escape, he hit two other motorcycles. This led to loss of three other lives. The owner of the truck is Bishnu Priya Sahu. Jani had been driving it for the past five or four months. Gosaninuagaon police is also probing the case. The previous case against Jani is also pending in court.
Cops have sent his licence to the authorities for cancellation. The truck had also been seized. The Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety (SCCoRS) had sought a government report on the incident on the overbridge.
The panel had also asked chief secretary Anu Garg to submit a detailed report by March 5. The accident spot in Ganjam has been marked as a black spot as it has witnessed 28 road accidents since 2019. At least 13 had died in these mishaps.
