Keonjhar: In a heart-wrenching turn of events, a man returning from a cremation was killed and nine others were injured after their auto-rickshaw overturned near Jatra Panchayat in Banspal block of Keonjhar district on Wednesday evening.
According to reports, the deceased, Anil Munda of Sundura village under Nayakote police station, was among a group of relatives and in-laws of Shiba Munda, who had died earlier in the day in an elephant attack at Dhanagadi village.
After attending Shiba Munda’s cremation, the group was returning home in an auto-rickshaw when the vehicle lost balance near the Jatra Panchayat office and overturned on the road. Locals said the auto was overcrowded at the time of the accident.
While Anil Munda sustained critical injuries and later succumbed at the Banspal Health Centre, nine others, reportedly from the Handibhanga area, were also injured and are undergoing treatment.
Local residents, along with Nayakote Police, rushed to the spot and helped rescue the victims. Police have registered a case and initiated an investigation into the cause of the accident.
