Six persons died and two more suffered injuries when an SUV ran them over while they were on their way to a temple near Siliguri on Monday morning.

The two injured are treated at Siliguri’s North Bengal Medical College and Hospital (NBMCH). Police have seized the vehicle but the driver has escaped.

Sources said a group of devotees from Gokuljote and Haudijote, two localities in the Phansidewa block of Darjeeling district, was walking along NH10 around 6am. They were on their way to a temple to offer puja.

While they were going past the Muni tea estate, which is 18km from here and near Bagdogra, an SUV knocked eight of them down, one after another. The vehicle was coming from the highway’s southern side, and the police suspected the driver had lost control of the SUV.

Local people and other devotees rushed for help and the eight were taken to NBMCH where six were pronounced dead.

The deceased were Amalesh Roy Choudhury, 20, Gobinda Roy, 22, and Himesh Roy Choudhury, 17, of Gokuljote and Pranab Roy, 28, Kanak Barman, 22, and Prahlad Roy, 35, of Haudijote.

The SUV that bore the Sikkim registration number went off the highway during the crash.

The Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad chief, Arun Ghosh, and his deputy Roma Rashmi Ekka reached the spot of the crash and the NBCMH.

“It was a tragic incident. We spoke to doctors at the NBMCH to check out the health status of the injured persons. We have also visited the villages of the victims and spoke to the bereaved family members. We will extend all possible assistance to them,” said Ghosh.

After the accident, a section of residents staged a blockade on the highway, demanding the deployment of adequate traffic police on the road.

The two-hour blockade was lifted after local panchayat members and police spoke to the agitators and
promised action.

“We will talk to the police officers of Bagdogra to intensify traffic patrolling on certain stretches of NH10 which are prone to accidents,” said Jagannath Roy, the head of Hetmuri-Singhijhora panchayat in Phansidewa block. The victims’ homes are in the panchayat.

A police officer said: “We are in search of the driver and trying to find out whether there were any passengers in the vehicle.”