Bhadrak mishap: Last rites of students performed amid pall of gloom

Bhadrak: A pal of gloom descended on Asura village of the district following the death of five students in a tragic road mishap near Rahanja area on NH-16 yesterday while they were returning from their school in Ranital.

While three students were cremated at the village crematorium yesterday night, one was taken to Puri. Similarly, another student was cremated in Bhardrak today.

Meanwhile, sombre mood prevailed at Ranital High School following the accident which has sent shockwaves throughout the state. The school administration declared a holiday and also held a silent prayer in memory of the dead students, informed sources.

Meanwhile, five other students who sustained critical injuries in the accident are undergoing treatment.

Commissioner of Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) visited Bhadrak today to take stock of the situation and also met the students injured in the tragic mishap.

“The school authorities have been asked to be more careful and students urged to be more vigilant while returning to their homes,” OSCPCR Commissioner Sandhyabati Pradhan said.

Yesterday at around 4 PM, a group of students were mowed down by a truck near Rahanja on NH-16. While four girl students were killed on the spot, another student died while undergoing treatment at the hospital. Later the truck driver who fled the spot after the accident was arrested from a nearby hospital.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the kin of the deceased yesterday.