Raipur. The owner and driver of the vehicle have been arrested after 19 people died when a cargo vehicle fell into a valley in Chhattisgarh’s Kabirdham district on Monday. Police officials gave this information on Tuesday. Kabirdham district Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallav said that vehicle owner Ramkrishna Sahu and driver Dinesh Yadav, residents of Kukdur police station area, were arrested on charges of culpable homicide.
Pallav said that a case has been registered against both of them under sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by endangering the life or personal safety of others) and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988. A case has been registered. The Superintendent of Police said that preliminary investigation revealed that the owner had allegedly given his goods vehicle on rent to transport people.
He told that he was aware that the road at Banjari Ghat is narrow and crooked and due to excessive crowd on the vehicle, he may lose control over it, yet the driver of the vehicle carried 35 people and loaded more luggage than required. .
Pallav told that the matter is being investigated.
A goods vehicle (pickup van) carrying a group of tendupatta collectors had fallen down the valley at Banjari Ghat in Kukdur police station area on Monday afternoon. In this incident, 19 tribals including 15 women and three minor girls were killed and three others were injured.
Of the dead, 17 were residents of Semrah village and two others were from nearby villages. Chief Minister Vishnudev Sai has announced financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh each to the families of each deceased and Rs 50,000 each to the injured. This assistance will be in addition to the ex-gratia amount provided by the district administration in such cases.