Three persons died when a pick-up van rammed into the rear of a cargo truck at Mainaguri in Jalpaiguri district on Tuesday.

The deceased were Amin Tudu, 28, Augustine Basra, 21 and Pabitra Pahan 22. Tudu and Basra were residents of Chopra in North Dinajpur district and Pahan was from Bidhannagar in Darjeeling district.

Sources said Tudu was the owner of the van, which he had bought about four months back. He was using the vehicle for his vegetable business. Pahan and Basra were the drivers of the van.

The pick-up van was on its way to Dhupguri from Siliguri when the accident occurred in the East-West Corridor at Indira More in Mainaguri block. The accident spot is 22 km from Jalpaiguri. The van rammed into the stationary truck.

“We came to know about the accident after other drivers reported the incident to our highway patrolling van. A fire tender from Mainaguri fire station also joined the police and the bodies had to be retrieved using a gas cutter,” a source in Mainaguri
police said.

Subal Ghosh, the inspector-in-charge of Mainguri police station said, both the vehicles were seized after the accident.

Dinesh Tudu, the uncle of the vehicle owner who died in the accident, said: “He (Amin) got married only a couple of years back.”

Anjan Pahan, a friend of Pabitra, who reached the police station to claim the body, said: “Pabitra was the only earning member of the family.”

Elephant attack

A wild elephant strayed into the Sukhanibusty in Nagrakata block of Jalpaiguri on Monday early morning.

Around 3 am, the elephant walked into the locality from the neighbouring Jaldhaka forest. It damaged the boundary wall of the house of Prem Mahato and then damaged the house of Dhuma Santhal, both of whom live in the village.

At Dhuma’s house, the elephant also devoured the food grains stored inside while the person fled to a safer place with his family.

The villagers assembled and started shouting in chorus while beating tin drums. After some time, the elephant walked back to the forest.

Later in the day, a team from the state forest department reached the village and examined the damages caused by the elephant. The affected families will be given compensation according to rules, said a forester.