Malda, May 11 -- Two tragic incidents within 24 hours cast a shadow of grief across Malda on Monday, as a fatal road accident in Gazole and the drowning of a school student at Sadullapur River Ghat left families devastated.
On Sunday night, one person was killed and five others seriously injured after a SUV carrying wedding passengers collided head-on with a private bus on National Highway 512 near Jamtala in Gazole. Police said the Kolkata-bound bus was travelling from Balurghat with more than 40 passengers, while the Scorpio was heading towards Gangarampur from Rajmahal.
The Scorpio driver allegedly lost control before crashing into the bus. While bus passengers escaped unharmed, the Scorpio occupants suffered critical injuries. One passenger, identified as Dipankar Barman, died at Gazole State General Hospital.
In another incident, the body of 15-year-old Arup Das was recovered from the Bhagirathi River at Sadullapur River Ghat on Monday morning. The Class 10 student of Malda Town High School had gone to bathe with friends on Sunday afternoon when he accidentally drowned. Despite overnight search operations by police and Civil Defence teams using speed boats and divers, the teenager remained missing until local youths recovered his body around 10 am on Monday.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.