A senior anti-corruption bureau officer died of trauma on his way to hospital in Ranchi after the SUV he was travelling in rolled down a ditch along NH-75 in Lohardaga, 75km from the state capital, on Thursday morning, the accident once again underscoring the need to honour the golden hour rule.
Additional superintendent of police (ACB) Anand Joseph Tigga (42), a 1999-batch DSP who bagged the President's medal for gallantry in 2008, was recently made the SP of Palamau division of the bureau. He was on his way to Daltonganj from Ranchi to take charge when the mishap took place around 10am.
Tigga's two injured bodyguards and driver have been admitted to a private hospital in the capital.
According to sources in Lohardaga police, the accident took place when the SUV was negotiating hairpin bends in Amjhariaghati near Pachamba More in Kudu thana area.
OC Sudhir Prasad said the driver told police that he lost control while avoiding a head-on collision with a speeding truck coming from the opposite direction. "The driver had to swerve and apply brake to allow the truck to pass. In the process, a rear wheel slipped into the ditch and the SUV took a tumble," the officer said.
A source in police conceded that precious time was lost in getting Tigga, who had received grievous head and chest injuries, adequate medical aid.
"Despite being injured themselves, the driver and the bodyguards pulled the barely conscious SP out of the SUV. With help from local residents, they stopped a vehicle bound for Daltonganj and took him to a community health centre in Chandwa, 25km from the spot. After first aid in Chandwa, they set out for Ranchi," the source said.
Tigga didn't survive the more than 100km journey back to the capital, which took around three hours. In emergency medicine, the golden hour refers to a time period lasting for an hour, or less, following a traumatic injury during which prompt treatment can prevent death.
After being selected through Bihar Public Service Commission exams in 1999, Tigga was trained in Hazaribagh. He was first posted as the DSP of Jehanabad (in unified Bihar). After Jharkhand was carved out in 2000, he opted for the state cadre.
In Jharkhand, Tigga served as DSP in Kiriburu, Ghatshila, Silli and Bundu, and for JAP-1 and Jharkhand Jaguar. He had sustained a bullet wound in the abdomen while fighting against Maoists in Ghatshila and was consequently awarded the President's medal.
Tigga is survived by his teacher wife Sonali De and two school-going children - a son and a daughter.
A condolence meeting was organised on JAP-1 premises on Thursday evening, which was attended by DGP D.K. Pandey and several senior police officers.
Chief minister Raghubar Das, who paid a floral tribute to Tigga at JAP-1 grounds in the presence of DGP Pandey, called the ACB officer "a great son of the soil".
Leader of the Opposition Hemant Soren, his father and JMM chief Shibu Soren and JVM president Babulal Marandi too condoled the death.
Sanjay Kumar, the chief minister's principal secretary, recalled Tigga's father as an ADM-rank officer while he was the deputy commissioner of East Singhbhum. "I have seen the boy grow from a fearless teenager to a chivalrous man. He studied at St Stephen's College in Delhi. I am an alumnus too. We are deeply saddened by his sudden demise," Kumar said.
