Agartala, November 29:
A late-night journey home from a wedding celebration turned tragic on Friday when a jeep carrying several passengers plunged down a hillside in Dhalai district, leaving one man dead and two others critically injured.
According to reports, a group from Nutanbazar Tularam Para had travelled to Haludjhuri in Gandacherra to attend a wedding feast. The accident occurred while they were returning home in a Commander vehicle (registration number TR 03–3154), driven by Rakesh Chakma of Nutanbazar Lebachhara.
Sources said the vehicle had halted on Kalajhari hill after the driver reportedly stepped out to relieve himself. Within moments, the parked jeep unexpectedly began to roll downhill. Witnesses recounted that the driver rushed back and attempted to regain control, but the vehicle slipped off the road and crashed against the hillside.
While most of the passengers managed to jump out in time, 47-year-old Sushen Chakma of Jatanbari Lepachhara became trapped under the overturned vehicle and succumbed to his injuries on the spot. The crash also left two others—62-year-old Jaisen Chakma and the driver, 35-year-old Rakesh Chakma—critically injured.
Upon receiving the alert, fire service personnel from Gandacherra promptly reached the location and rescued the injured men. They were immediately shifted to the Gandacherra Sub-Divisional Hospital, where their condition remains critical.
Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances that led to the fatal accident. Preliminary accounts from eyewitnesses suggest that the vehicle rolled uncontrollably before hitting the left-side hill slope and overturning.
The tragic incident has cast a shadow of sorrow over the Jatanbari–Lepachhara region, as residents mourn the loss of one of their own and wait anxiously for the recovery of the injured.
