Two fatal tractor accidents in Odisha’s Balangir and Malkangiri districts have claimed two lives and left one minor critically injured on Sunday.
In Balangir, a tractor ran over two boys riding a bicycle in Gohirapadar village under Bangomunda police station limits. 12-year-old Ashish Thapa died, while Haldhar Bag was seriously injured.
Both boys were first taken to a local medical facility. Ashish’s condition worsened, and he was shifted to the Nuapada District Headquarters Hospital, where he died during treatment. Bangomunda police seized the tractor and the bicycle, detained the driver, Mohan Thapa, and began an inquiry, officer Sanjib Pradhan said.
In a separate incident in Malkangiri, 33-year-old Shankar Kashariya was killed when a tractor struck him near a bridge at Padiami Guda under Padia police station.
According to a written complaint filed by his elder brother, Shankar was standing by the roadside around 3 pm when Haridas Mandal, driving tractor OD 30D 9912 at high speed, hit him. Shankar fell under a rear wheel and died on the spot.
Padia police reached the scene, seized the tractor and the body, and started an investigation.
Authorities in both districts said inquiries into the circumstances of the crashes, including the manner of driving, were continuing.
