Digboi: Public anger spilled onto National Highway 38 at Tingrai Bazar under Digboi Police Station in Assam’s Tinsukia district on Thursday evening after 52-year-old Ram Dulal Gupta succumbed to injuries sustained in a road accident.
Enraged residents placed his body on the highway and staged a blockade, demanding the immediate arrest of the accused rider and stringent legal action.
Vehicular movement on NH-38 came to a standstill during the agitation, with long queues of stranded vehicles stretching on both sides of the busy route. Protesters raised slogans alleging negligence and delay in police action and demanded justice for the deceased.
Women and children of the affected family, along with relatives, also took part in the highway agitation, heightening tensions at the protest site.
Gupta, a resident of Tingrai Panikhuwa and belonging to an economically underprivileged family, had been battling for life for several days at Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH), Dibrugarh. He succumbed to multiple internal injuries on Thursday, triggering widespread outrage in the locality.
The fatal accident reportedly occurred last Friday near the Panikhuwa Auto Stand when Gupta was returning home from Doomdooma on his bicycle.
A scooty carrying three persons allegedly rammed into him from behind, leaving him critically injured. He was initially rushed to Makum Medical College for treatment and later referred to AMCH for advanced medical care. Despite sustained efforts by doctors, he could not be saved.
Family members leveled serious allegations against the scooty rider, claiming he neither provided immediate medical assistance at the accident site nor visited Gupta during his hospitalization. They further alleged that an FIR was registered only after 48 hours, expressing dissatisfaction over what they described as a delayed and inadequate response by the authorities.
As news of his demise spread, tension escalated in the area. Residents gathered at Tingrai Bazar and intensified their protest by placing the body on the highway, insisting on swift and exemplary punishment for the accused.
Police officials from Digboi and Doomdooma stations reached the spot and engaged in discussions with the agitators. After assurances that necessary legal proceedings would be initiated under relevant provisions of law, the blockade was lifted and traffic movement gradually returned to normal.
Police sources confirmed that an investigation into the incident is currently underway.
Gupta is survived by his wife, two daughters, and a son. His untimely death has left the family grieving and affected the local community.