As many as five people were killed and three others were injured in a road accident on national highway-29 in the Kukidolong area in Nagaland on Saturday.
The case of hit-and-run occurred in the Kukidolong area near Jharnapani yesterday morning. A Tata truck having registration numbers MN 01 AA 0272 coming from Imphal hit a regional taxi which was headed for Kohima.
The taxi ferrying passengers that was hit was an Eeco van having registration numbers NL 07 T 0757.
Three passengers, all male, were killed on the spot, while five were left injured in the incident.
The injured were rushed to the Christian Institute of Health Sciences and Research (CIHSR) in Dimapur, however, two of them succumbed to injuries there.
Meanwhile, the remaining three people including the driver of the taxi are currently receiving treatment in the hospital.
The deputy commissioner of police (crime) and Dimapur police PRO in a joint release said that the driver of the truck that caused the accident had drove off the scene.
However, the truck was intercepted near the New Chumoukedima area after a hot pursuit from a police escort team of the deputy chief minister of Nagaland, Y Patton.
The truck has been seized and the driver has been taken into custody, the release stated. A case has also been registered against him in the matter.
The deputy chief minister of the state, Y Patton expressed his grief over the unfortunate accident.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote, “Deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident that took place near ICAR, Medziphema, in which several people lost their lives. Kudos to the officers, who also are my escort team members, for their brisk action and apprehending the fleeing culprit.”
