Tragic death of lorry driver: DM show caused, SDM suspended in Tripura

Agartala, Aug 6 (PTI) Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Wednesday said Sub-Divisional Officer (SDM), Teliamura, Parimal Majumdar, has been placed under suspension, and Khowai, District Magistrate, Rajat Pant has been served a show cause notice for the tragic death of a lorry driver at Chakmaghat.

Mihir Lal Debnath, who was trapped inside the cabin of the cement-laden lorry after the vehicle hit a tree at Chakmaghat in the early hours of Tuesday, succumbed as a prolonged rescue operation 'failed'.

The chief minister said a three-member committee headed by Revenue secretary Brijesh Pandey will investigate the incident.

"A show cause notice has been served to District Magistrate (DM), Khowai district, Rajat Pant, for the tragic death of a driver. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Teliamura, Parimal Majumdar, has been suspended with immediate effect", he wrote on Facebook.

"A financial assistance of Rs 6 lakh has been sanctioned for the victim's family, while Social Welfare & Social Education minister Tinku Roy and Industries & Commerce Minister Santana Chakma, will visit the residence of the deceased", he said.

Saha added, "We remain firmly committed to justice and to upholding the people's faith in our government".

A day after the shocking incident, Deputy Collector and Magistrate of the SDM office, Teliamura subdivision, Anjan Das, admitted the rescue situation they faced was "new and the disaster response team never ever had exposure to deal with such an emergency situation..

"We are not well-equipped to confront such situations. The instruments we have are essentially used for cutting trees and removing debris during flood and storms. All the officials of the civil administration had been stationed in their offices, and two officials who had their turns according to the roster reached the spot", he said. PTI PS RG