A senior journalist and his wife was killed in a road accident near Ram Darbar on the National Highway in the city, police said here on Sunday.
Governor Shekhar Dutt and Chief Minister Raman Singh have expressed profound grief over the incident.The Chief Minister while taking a serious note of the incident has directed the district administration and police department officials to improve the traffic flow in city within a month.Superintendent of Police, Rajnandgaon, Dr Sanjeev Shukla informed that the mishap occurred around 10 pm when Holkar Banchhor along with his wife Savitri Banchhor were trying to cross the highway near Ram Darbar, late on Saturday night on their scooter.
The place at which mishap happened lacks proper lighting, SP told The Pioneer over phone adding that a heavy truck coming from other side collided with the scooter.The collision was so severe that Savitri Banchhor died on the spot whereas doctors pronounced Holkar Banchhor brought dead at a city hospital, police said.The truck driver has been arrested and a case in this connection has been registered against errant driver with Kotwali police station, the SP maintained.
Chief Minister Raman Singh after knowing about the incident called the Superintendent of Police Rajnandgaon on phone and asked him to co-ordinate with the Collector and convene a meeting with the officers of the PWD, the Municipal Corporation and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) within a week for finding a permanent solution to the traffic problem in the city.The Chief Minister told the SP to ensure firm action for a permanent solution to the traffic problem of the city, after deliberation on all aspects.Singh, while remembering his years old friendly relations with Banchhor, said, “I have lost a good friend with the death of Banchhor.”
He said, adding, Banchhor had been dedicated to journalism for years. He was an active and dedicated journalist, who worked as chief correspondent in many daily newspapers for a long time, the Chief Minister added.