BHUBANESWAR: In a tragic accident, a research scholar of IIT-Bhubaneswar was killed and another seriously injured after their scooter crashed into a street kerb on the institute campus late on Monday night. The deceased has been identified as Shankhasubhra Chakraborty, a third-year PhD scholar.
Sources said, the incident occurred at around 11.20 pm when Chakraborty and Shakti Sagar Srivastav, a first-year research scholar, both from the School of Earth, Ocean and Climate Sciences, were going on a scooter from their hostel towards the academic zone on the campus. However, Chakraborty, who was riding the two-wheeler with Srivastav on the pillion, reportedly lost control and dashed on to the road kerb.
A nearby security patrol, alerted by the sound of the crash, rushed to the spot and found Chakraborty lying unconscious on the road with severe injuries, while Srivastav was conscious and on the pavement, sources said.
The security guards immediately shifted both students to the institute’s Sanjeevan Hospital and after initial emergency treatment and CPR the doctors referred both to nearby Manipal Hospital for advanced care. However, Chakraborty was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital while Srivastav is currently undergoing treatment in the Neuro ICU. His condition is stated to be stable.
Body of the deceased, hailing from Kolkata, has been handed over to the family after postmortem. Srivastav’s family members in Lucknow have also been informed and are on their way, institute officials said.
Jatni police, meanwhile, has launched an investigation to ascertain the circumstances that led to the accident on the campus. An official from the institute told TNIE that they already have strict regulations in place for riders on the campus. Only PhD students have been allowed to ride two-wheelers within a prescribed speed limit considering the distance between their hostel and the lab, in the 936 acre campus.
“We have bus service, bicycles and e-rickshaws for transport within the campus. However, the PhD scholars have been allowed to ride scooters as their research work sometimes demands immediate visit to the lab, located about 3 km away from the hostels,” the official said.