The damaged car in a ditch alongside Bypass Road in Patna. Picture by Sachin

Patna, March 21: Speeding under the influence of liquor spoilt the spirit of the festival of colours in the state capital, as five youths lost their lives in two different accidents.

An alert police imposed fine on 250 bikers yesterday for rash driving but could not prevent two fatal mishaps. Two 20-year-old youths died when their bike crashed into a road divider under the jurisdiction of Kankerbagh police station around 12.30pm. The deceased have been identified as Ankit and Adarsh.

Three others died in the evening when the car they were travelling in fell into a ditch alongside Bypass Road. The deceased have been identified as Dhruv Kumar Sah and Anil Kumar, both residents of Begumpur area near Patna City, and Deepak Kumar alias Dipu, a resident of Daulatpur in Jehanabad.

Sujit Kumar, the station house officer of Kankerbagh police station, said: “Nine youths, none sporting helmet, from Rajendra Nagar area were travelling on three bikes in the afternoon. Each bike had two pillion riders. According to some eyewitnesses, one of the bikes suddenly accelerated to overtake the other two bikes. The driver lost control over the speeding two-wheeler after a while and it rammed into a road divider. All the three youths on the bike were taken to the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) in a critical condition. Two succumbed to their injuries. Another youth, Abhishek, is undergoing treatment.”

Around eight hours after the bike mishap, the car accident on the Bypass Road occurred. Four persons were travelling in the speeding car that dived into the ditch. All the occupants of the car were allegedly under the influence of liquor and could not get out of the vehicle.

Manoj Kumar, the station house officer of Bypass police station, said four persons were travelling in the car coming from Patna.

“The car was being driven dangerously. There are ditches on the either side of the Bypass Road. The driver of the car lost control over the vehicle and it fell into a ditch upside down. Mud and water started entering the car. Under the influence of liquor, three occupants of the vehicle could not come out of it and died. The injured person has been identified as Guddu. He was the driving the car and somehow managed to come out of it.”

Had the police not been on high alert on the festival day, the number of fatal accidents would have been higher. The police said they were determined to pull up rash drivers.

“As many as 250 bikers driving dangerously were intercepted and fined. The cops patrolled their respective areas continuously to avoid any problem and maintain peace,” a senior officer said.

“In the past two days we collected fine worth Rs 12,000 for offences like rash driving, driving without helmets or driving under the influence of liquor,” an officer of Kankerbagh police station said.

Cops said triple-riding and driving two-wheelers without helmets were their major headaches.