BHUBANESWAR: The authorities' vigil on drunk driving seems to have had little impact on arresting the menace, as two staff of The New Indian Express Kiran Kumar Behera and Sarangadhara Parida were critically injured when a man under the influence of alcohol hit their two-wheeler with his speeding car on Tuesday night near State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) here.
The accused Samohit Smarak of Mancheswar was nabbed from the spot by the locals and handed over to Mancheswar police. The victims were going towards Rasulgarh when the accident happened. Behera and Parida were rushed to Capital Hospital and then referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital. They were later shifted to a private hospital in Cuttack.
The doctors are mulling to perform amputation surgery of Behera's right leg, while a plate will be fixed in Parida's leg. Behera's colleague Sanjay Kumar Patnaik lodged a complaint in Mancheswar police station alleging that Smarak rammed his car into the duo's two-wheeler at about 3.30 am before colliding with a pole. Such was the impact of the car collision that both the airbags of the car opened up. However, he escaped unhurt.
A case was registered under Sections 279, 337 and 338 and under Section 185 of Motor Vehicles Act as he was driving under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested and produced in a court, said an officer of Mancheswar police station.