Four people, including three women, were killed and 18 others injured when a trekker carrying pilgrims rammed into a stationary truck near Gokarna in Murshidabad’s Kandi block along the Behrampore–Sainthia State Highway on Sunday afternoon.
The victims were returning home to Bisharadganj village under the Hariharpara police station area after taking a holy bath in a pond at Bele village in Birbhum district.
The deceased are Sambhu Sarkar, 40, the driver, and pilgrims Banjon Sarkar, 56, Binu Rani Sarkar, 50 and Champa Sarkar, 48. The injured 18 have been admitted to Murshidabad Medical College
and Hospital.
According to police, the group had left Bisharadganj in a trekker on Saturday night for Bele village, where a sacred pond is believed by villagers to cure various ailments. They were on their way back home on Sunday morning when the accident occurred.
Eyewitnesses said the trekker collided with a sand-laden truck parked by the roadside in Gokarna, killing four persons instantly.
“I was having tea at a shop near the Gokarna Power House intersection when I heard a deafening sound. I rushed to the spot and saw the trekker had smashed into the truck. The injured were screaming and the vehicle’s front was completely mangled. We rushed everyone to the local hospital, where four were declared dead. The rest were shifted to the Murshidabad Medical College,” Gokarna resident Bikash Mandal said.
As the news spread, a pall of grief descended on Bisharadganj village. “In our village, it is believed that bathing in the pond at Bele cures chronic body pain and diseases. That’s why a group had hired the vehicle and left around 8pm on Saturday,” said Bisharadganj villager Sulekha Sarkar.
Murshidabad SP Kumar Sanu Raj said: “The trekker was reportedly speeding when it rammed into a parked truck. We initially thought the driver dozed off, though some survivors and eyewitnesses have given slightly different versions of the accident that claimed four lives. The injured are being treated at the Murshidabad Medical
College Hospital.”