BHUBANESWAR: Three eunuchs were killed and five others suffered injuries after the truck they were travelling in rammed a dumper laden with boulders near Khandagiri Square here late on Friday.
The accident triggered tension as the area has been witness to frequent mishaps which have claimed several lives in last one year. Worried over the recurrence of accidents, Commerce and Transport Department has sought a report from Regional Transport Officer (RTO), Bhubaneswar.
The incident occurred when the truck driver failed to spot the dumper parked along NH-5 in front of a petrol pump. The impact of the collision was such that two of the passengers - Panchei Kinnar and Barsha Kinnar died on the spot. Their bodies were mangled.
A third passenger Pratima Kinnar was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack in a critical state. The mishap left Pratima with a severed leg, which was carried to the hospital along with the injured in a separate ambulance following the insistence of eunuchs association. Pratima succumbed later.
All the three, who died in the accident, were seated in front cabin of the truck. However, four others - Swapna, Lucky, Rupali and Madhabi - who were in the rear cabin escaped with injuries.
Police said, the seven were returning from Khurda and hitchiked after they failed to get any passenger carrier.
This is not the first mishap at Khandagiri Square as the junction has proved to be a death trap for commuters. Encroachment, illegal parking, bad road planning and design have contributed to the mishaps while traffic management has been shoddy.
The Commissionerate Police, sources said, has reportedly asked the RTO office to augment its enforcement against violators.
Meanwhile, All Odisha Eunuch Association has sought compensation from the Government for the kin of the deceased failing which it will ‘gherao’ the Assembly.