BHUBANESWAR: A relative of BJD legislator Debashish Samantaray might land in trouble in connection with Saturday's hit-and-run incident that killed an MCA student of
Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology
(OUAT) near Siripur here.
Police said the SUV that knocked down Suchismita Biswal belonged to a company, owned by Samantaray's kin.
"We found the SUV is registered in the name of Sidharth Construction, owned by the MLAs relative. But we are not concerned about the owner. Our focus is to trace the person, who was driving the vehicle when the accident took place. Prima facie, we came to know that a company driver was behind the wheel," said DCP Satyabrata Bhoi. "We have identified the driver, who is on the run. Statements of witnesses will be recorded," Bhoi said.
On Monday, a number of OUAT students blocked Siripur-Fire Station road for several hours, demanding immediate arrest of the driver and compensation to the kin of the deceased. The agitators alleged Biswal was murdered. "We don't think it was a road accident. The SUV drove into a wrong route and hit her. We saw the vehicle again returned and ran over her. We suspect she was killed. We demand CBI probe into her death as name of a ruling party leader is linked to the vehicle," said OUAT students union president
Jyoti Sundar
Rout.
"Even after 48 hours of the accident, the police failed to arrest the accused. We suspect the police were trying to shield the accused under duress from the BJD leader," he said. OUATs vice-chancellor Surendranath Pasupalak said the police assured to arrest the driver. BJP's youth wing general secretary
Thakur Ranjit Das
demanded fair probe into her death and arrest of the culprit.
Despite repeated attempts, neither Samantaray nor any employee of Sidharth Construction was available for comment.
Stay updated with the latest news on Times of India. Don't miss daily games like Crossword, Sudoku, Location Guesser and Mini Crossword.
Start a Conversation
Post comment