Hours after the tragic accident in Jalukbari area of Guwahati which killed seven students of the Assam Engineering College (AEC), the owner of a scooty rental business informed that he gave his car to the students on rent for a few hours on Sunday evening. This was informed by Shoubhik Thakur, the owner of a startup named 'Khoka Self Driving' in Guwahati.
Shoubhik Thakur while speaking to the media informed that the students of AEC took his vehicle for 2-3 hours on rent on Sunday evening. He also said that he was informed about the accident at around 1:30 am today.
Shoubhik said, “Yes, I’m the owner of the Scorpio car which met with an accident early this morning. Kaushik Mohan and Arpan Bhuyan, both students of AEC were my very close friends. Yesterday, they asked me for my scooty for a few hours, but since I didn’t have the scooty, they asked me for the Scorpio car. I agreed and allotted them the car. They took the vehicle at around 4:30 pm from the IIT gate and told me that they would arrive after 2-3 hours. I also advised them to ride safely.”
“Since it was a little late, I called my friends at around 9 pm. They said they were at the Chandubi area. Later, at around 1 am I got a call from Arpan who was one of those who survived the accident. He informed me about the tragic accident that occurred. I was shattered after hearing the news,” he added.
Shoubhik Thakur further informed that he was the owner of a business where he gave scooty on rent to college students. He also said that this was not the first time Kaushik and Arpan had taken vehicle from him on rent.
He said, “I am an IIT Guwahati 2020 pass-out from the Department of Design. I have a startup of scooty rental business named 'Khoka Self Driving'. I give scooty to college students on rent. Earlier too, I had given them vehicles on rent, but the incident that happened yesterday is very unfortunate and I am deeply anguished with whatever happened.”
It may be mentioned that at least seven students of the AEC were killed in a tragic road accident that took place at around 1 am on Monday when the driver of the Scorpio car bearing the registration number As 01 GC 8829 lost control and crossed over a divider before crashing into a Bolero DI pickup van on the opposite lane on Jalukbari Flyover road, sources informed.
As per the initial information received, ten persons were inside the vehicle. Out of the ten, seven died on the spot while three others were immediately rushed to Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in critical condition.
