TURA, Aug 29 � A tragedy struck the Roman Catholic community of Garo Hills when a priest and a brother along with two others died in a head- on collision of their vehicle with a truck at Boko while returning from Guwahati to Tura on Saturday night.
The incident took place at Singra in Boko area at 8 pm when the Bolero vehicle belonging to Don Bosco Secondary School, Tura, was returning with Assistant Headmaster Rev Fr Rajesh Ekka, 30, Brother Bijay Toppo, 28 and an elderly gentleman from Kerala K A Augustine, 50.
The Bolero vehicle, driven by Logik Rava, collided head- on with a truck leading to the death of all the four occupants of the vehicle. It is not known how the accident happened but it is presumed that the mishap may have occured while either of the vehicles tried to overtake.
The impact of the collision was so powerful that the truck which rammed the Bolero was also hit from behind by another truck. The Bolero was literally a mangled mass.
Fr. Rajesh Ekka and K A Augustine died on the spot while Brother Bijay Toppo passed away at Jalukbari, outskirts of Guwahati, while being taken to the GNRC Hospital. The driver Logik Rava died of his wounds at Boko primary health centre while being administered treatment.
The news of the tragedy cast a gloom in the entire Roman Catholic community of Garo Hills and special prayers were held during Sunday mass for the departed souls. The funeral of the two priests are expected to take place at Tura today.
The Paikan to Guwahati road has of late become a death trap for many travellers during the night. Hundreds of trucks and other commercial vehicles ply along the route from Jogighopa area of Goalpara because it is the shortest route to enter Guwahati from neighbouring West Bengal and other States. The dust and haze coupled with high beam lights used by truckers create a very difficult condition for drivers of smaller vehicles.
Several people from Garo Hills have met a tragic end along this route on many an occasion. Some months ago a mother-father duo met a tragic death while heading to Guwahati. Miraculously their daughter survived the accident. Three years ago, a former legislator and a hot favourite to win the Kharkutta Assembly seat in East Garo Hills, Late P D Sangma, was also killed in the same route when his Bolero rammed into a stationary truck during the early morning hours.
