1 dead, 7 injured as SUV crashes into goods carrier in Chhattisgarh; 19-year-old driver arrested

Bemetara (Chhattisgarh), Oct 27 (PTI) A man was killed and seven other persons were injured after a speeding SUV rammed into a mini goods vehicle carrying passengers in Chhattisgarh's Bemetara city, police said on Monday.

Accused SUV driver Mehar Singh Saluja alias Krish (19), son of a local businessman, escaped from the spot after the accident on Sunday night but was later arrested.

Some locals ransacked his house and vandalised the vehicles parked there after the accident.

The incident took place in Singhauri ward under City Kotwali police station limits, Bemetara Senior Superintendent of Police Ramakrishna Sahu said.

As many as 17 persons from Boriya-Bagod village were returning in the goods vehicle after attending a family function in nearby Baijalpur village of Bemetara, when the SUV hit it from the rear end, he said.

The impact left several passengers of the goods vehicle seriously injured.

Of them, Jeevan Sahu (27) succumbed during treatment at a hospital, while three critically injured victims were referred to Raipur for further treatment, the police official said.

After the accident, the accused SUV driver continued driving rashly through the city in a bid to escape, hitting multiple vehicles and pedestrians at different locations leaving several people injured, he said.

His vehicle was later found parked outside his house here, the official said.

His father Balmeet Saluja, a local businessman, was questioned and later his son Mehar Singh Saluja alias Krish was arrested on Monday, the official said.

The accused was produced in a local court which sent him to jail on judicial remand, Sahu added.

He was booked under sections 281 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 125 A (Act endangering life or personal safety of others), 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of Bharatiya Nayaya Sanhita and provisions of Motor Vehicles Act.

Tension gripped the area after the accident as some locals vandalised the accused driver's residence and vehicles, including some cars and motorcycles, parked there.

The protesters also gathered outside the local police station, raising slogans and accusing authorities of inaction.

They later placed the victim's body on National Highway-30, blocking traffic for hours while demanding strict action against the driver.

The locals had also called for a bandh in the city during the day, which drew a mixed response.

Security has been deployed in the city to prevent any untoward incident, the official said. PTI COR TKP GK BNM