Death of two Odisha BJP leaders: Dumper had 'intentionally' hit their vehicle, says police

Bhubaneswar: The police on Monday said a dumper had "intentionally" hit the vehicle of two BJP leaders in Odisha's Sambalpur district.

The two BJP leaders, identified as BJP's Goshala mandal president Debendra Nayak and ex-sarpanch Muralidhar Chhuria, were killed after the dumper hit their car in the early hours of Sunday.

The incident happened around 1.30 am on NH 53 in the Burla police station area. There were six people in the car, including the driver, and they were returning home in Kardola from Bhubaneswar, police said.

"The video footage of the incident we have collected shows that the dumper intentionally hit the car. So, we have registered a case under Sections 307 and 302 of BNS. We are collecting other scientific evidence," Superintendent of Police, P Mukesh Kumar Bhamoo told media persons in Sambalpur.

The police are now interrogating the dumper driver. At what time he left and stayed on the highway, the SP stated.

The SP said he would be able to reveal more details of the case in the evening. All six people were taken to a nearby hospital where doctors declared two of them dead. The injured were undergoing treatment there.

Suresh Chanda, who was injured in the accident, alleged, "The vehicle hit our car from behind twice. Suspecting someone trying to hit our vehicle intentionally, the driver turned the car towards a rural road from the highway near Kantapalli Square. Still, the dumper chased our vehicle and hit it badly. As a result, the car overturned."

Chanda said he was conscious till the dumper hit their car twice on the highway, but lost sense when it hit the third time.

"I am sure that someone intentionally caused the accident. By mistake, one can hit a vehicle once. Why would someone be hit thrice from behind?" asked the injured BJP worker.