A couple was crushed to death under the wheels of a truck in a head-on collision with their motorcycle at Neulipur Chhak on National Highway-16 under the Dharmasala police station of Jajpur district on Sunday. Their seven-year-old daughter Gayatri sustained serious injuries. Police seized the bodies of Laxmikanta Matia (30) and Manjulata (28) of Badadeuli village under Karajia block of Mayurbhanj district and sent the bodies to the Government hospital at Dharamsala for autopsy.
The couple and their minor daughter were going to Bhubaneswar by the bike when the tragedy took place.
Police seized the truck, but its driver managed to flee, said Dharmasala police station IIC Saroj Kumar Sahoo. Large numbers of locals blocked NH-16 at Neulipur for two hours and demanded immediate arrest of the truck driver and compensation for the kin of the deceased.
Police rushed to the spot and pacified the agitators. The accident took place as the driver was taking the truck on the wrong side due to the closure of one side of the highway as road repair work is underway.
