Balasore: It was a field day for locals after a rice-laden mini truck overturned Monday on National Highway-16 at Bahanaga under Soro police limits in Balasore district. Sources said as soon as the news about the accident and rice scattered on the highway spread, residents of nearby villages rushed to the spot to grab whatever they could manage.
Instead of alerting the cops, the locals were seen taking away bags of rice which had fallen from the vehicle. The situation turned chaotic as they went berserk, jostling against each other to have a share of the loot. The accident and the chaos created by the villagers brought vehicular movements to a standstill on both sides of the road.
On receipt of information, police rushed to the spot and drove away the locals. Normalcy returned after more than an hour after the accident-affected vehicle was removed from the NH.
Sources informed the incident occurred while the vehicle was en route to West Bengal. The driver lost control on an overbridge and the vehicle turned turtle. The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries while no casualty was reported. “Fortunately, there were no vehicles on the highway at the time of the accident. Otherwise, there could have been a major tragedy,” a senior police officer said. They also said that the injured driver has been arrested.
PNN