Patna: Two teenage girls died and six others were injured after a speeding truck hit a group of devotees returning from Maa Netula Temple on the Sikandra-Nawada main road in Jamui district early Tuesday morning. The truck driver fled with the vehicle after the accident.The deceased were identified as Sulekha Kumari (13), daughter of Manoj Yadav, and Anshu Kumari (16), daughter of Sankendra Yadav, both residents of Panchmahua village under Sikandra police station area. Sulekha was a Class VII student, while Anshu studied in Class IX.The accident occurred around 4.30am near the Dharsanda turn when a group of eight to nine girls and children were returning home on foot after offering prayers at the temple in Kumar village on the occasion of Durga Puja. The truck, coming from Nawada towards Sikandra, hit the group, killing the two girls on the spot. Four girls and two boys sustained injuries in the accident and were rushed to the hospital.The accident plunged Panchmahua village into mourning. Angry villagers placed the bodies at Sikandra main square and blocked the road, bringing traffic to a halt for nearly two hours.Police from Sikandra police station reached the spot and tried to pacify the protesters. Jamui SP Vishwajeet Dayal also arrived with a police force at the protest site. The blockade was subsequently cleared, and the bodies were sent to a govt hospital for postmortem.The SP added: “Efforts are underway to trace the truck and its driver.”The incident has raised concerns among local residents over the safety of devotees. A large number of people visit Maa Netula Temple early in the morning during the festival, and many of them walk along the main road. Residents demanded increased police patrolling and measures to control the speed of heavy vehicles during the early morning hours.
