A week after the Haridwar district magistrate warned National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officers of action in case another accidental death occurred on the national highway, a 22-year-old youth working in a SIIDCUl-based factory was crushed to death by a truck on the national highway on Friday. The district officers said that a probe was on and a decision would soon be taken about whether to register a case against NHAI for the accidental death.
The deceased has been identified as Ashish Rawat from Kotdwar who worked in a SIIDCUl-based factory, police said, adding that the accident happened after the motor bike he was riding skidded off the road.
He fell on the road and was crushed by a speeding truck, a police officer said. According to the eye witnesses, the two-wheeler skidded after it stumbled upon sandstones scattered on the road. Police impounded the truck, though the driver escaped. Ashish died on the spot.
Speaking of the accident, SSP Krishna Kumar V K said, “The probe is on and if it is found that the death occurred due to the ill- maintenance of the road or the scattered sandstones, a case would be registered against the NHAI officials.”
Notably, taking a stern view of the spiralling accidents occurring on the potholed or dug-up roads being manned by NHAI, the DM Deepak Rawat had asked the NHAI officials to brace up for legal action if another accident caused by the bad condition of the road occurred on the stretch of road under NHAI.
Observers say that they are waiting to see what the district administration would do to make the NHAI accountable for the accident in the court. “There is no way the district administration can backtrack now after the DM publicly let out the warning.
If the district administration sticks to its gun the NHAI might be prodded to mend things which might save others from being crushed to death in the coming days,” says an observer.