Khordha/Kalahandi: At least five persons including a transgender were killed in separate road mishap which struck the state in Khordha and Kalahandi districts since last night.
In the first instance, at least two youths were killed after a Toyota Innova (Registration No. OD 33 G 3710) which was carrying them skidded off a bridge at Sandhapur near Jatni on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar and plunged into a canal last night.
The deceased has been identified as Narendra Guru and his nephew Jitu Guru of Sandhapur area. The duo was returning after taking part in Jatni Ganesh Puja when the tragedy struck.
Later in the night in Khordha district, an unidentified vehicle ran over a transgender on NH-16 near Gangapada killing the victim on the spot. It is suspected that the driver of the vehicle failed to spot the victim due to dark ahead of the accident.
Similarly, in Kalahandi district, at least two persons were killed after a bike they were travelling by was hit from the front by a speeding Mahindra Bolero near Dulukibandh Chhak on Jaypatna Road near Dharmagarh in the wee hours today. The accident took place after the driver of the SUV lost control over the wheels due to high speed.
The deceased identified as Sai Sourabh Panda of Badakuturu village and Padmanabha Rana of Bijmara village died on the spot.
Dharmagarh Police reached the spot and seized the bodies for autopsy.
Prasanta Patnaik