PERNEM
A rider was crushed to death and the pillion rider was seriously injured on Friday after their scooter was knocked down by a truck at the Link Road leading to Mopa Airport at Sukekulan-Dhargal, prompting an irate mob to retaliate by setting ablaze two cranes in the vicinity.
The mishap took place at about 11.30 am when Namdev Narayan Kambli (63) was riding a scooter, with Kashinath Tukaram Shetye (64) on the pillion.
A truck involved in ongoing construction activity along the link road knocked the scooter down, killing Kambli on the spot and seriously injuring Shetye. The truck is reported to have dragged the body to some distance before coming to a halt. The truck driver abandoned the vehicle and fled from the site.
Locals quickly gathered at the site and an irate mob then gave vent to their anger by setting ablaze two cranes at the site.
The injured rider was taken to Mapusa district hospital, while the body of Kambli remained at the site and the crowd refused to allow a police team to remove the body, till compensation was paid to the Kambli and Shetye families.
As the situation turned tense, the Mopa Airport Police Inspector Ninad Deulkar, Pernem Police Sachin Lokre and a huge police force was dispatched to the site to maintain law and order.
Pernem MLA Pravin Arlekar also rushed to the site to take stock of the situation. In a bid to pacify the irate mob, Arlekar assured that he would take responsibility to ensure compensation to the two families.
Locals complained that the Link Road and the flyover between Dhargal-Sukekulan and Manohar International Airport have remained embroiled in various controversies. They added that construction work has been in progress for a long time, leading to a number of accidents at the site.
They claimed that two locals had also been victims of road mishaps at the site, but their families had never received compensation, either from the government or the company involved in the construction activity.
After 4 hours of negotiations, the locals were assured that due compensation would be paid and it was only then that they allowed the body to be removed from the site and sent to GMC hospital at Bambolim.
The final rites of the deceased took place later at about 8.30 pm at his native place. He is survived by his wife and three sons.
Pernem police have identified the truck driver and are on the lookout for him, as investigations are in progress.
