Rayagada: Two police constables on duty for the Bahuda Yatra in Rayagada died in separate incidents Saturday casting a pall of gloom over the district police force.
In the first incident, Labanya Ganta, 24, a woman constable from Khedapada panchayat, died in a road accident at Gunakhala Chhak under Chandili police limits.
She was reportedly on her way to Shraddha Srikhetra in Rayagada for festival duty when the scooter she was riding was rear-ended by a truck.
Eyewitnesses said the collision occurred as the scooter slowed near a speed breaker, causing Labanya to fall and be run over by the truck. She died on the spot.
A motorcycle coming from the opposite direction also collided with the scooter. The two bike riders, Kantarao Kadraka and Subbarao Kadraka, both 40 and residents of Munigaan village, sustained serious injuries and are undergoing treatment at the District Headquarters Hospital.
Police have seized the truck and launched an investigation. Meanwhile, another constable Tarini Charan Gamang, 50, collapsed and died while on duty at Tehsil Chhak on National Highway 326.
Gaming, a resident of Lakshmanguda village under Padmapur police limits, had joined the force in 1997 and was serving at Doraguda police station.
He was also deployed for Bahuda Yatra duty in Rayagada. He reportedly felt unwell and collapsed while managing traffic.
Fellow officers rushed him to the District Headquarters Hospital, where doctors declared him dead. Senior officials, including SDPO Gourahari Sahu, RI Kabibar Dehuri and Town IIC Prasanna Kumar Behera, visited the hospital.
Colleagues remembered Gamang as a disciplined and sincere officer. The back-to-back deaths have left the Rayagada police department in mourning on a day meant for religious celebration.
PNN
