Kaziranga crash: Speed limiter removed to make more trips, police find

Police probe into the Kaziranga collision that led to the death of 26 people has revealed that the owner of the minibus had removed a mandatory speed-limiting device, Assam Police have said.

A day after a head-on collision between a minibus and a container truck left 26 people dead and several injured, some critically, Swapnaneel Deka, the Golaghat Senior Superintendent of Police, told The Indian Express: “All commercial vehicles in Assam are required to install a speed-limiting device. However, our investigation revealed that the device was removed intentionally by the driver and the owner so that they can make more trips for financial gains”.

The head-on collision occurred in the Rangajan area of Golaghat district around 2:30 pm on Friday, police said. According to the preliminary investigation, the minibus was allegedly speeding.

Of the 26 people who died, two are yet to be identified. The minibus driver, who was reportedly speeding, also died on the spot, according to officials.

At least 15 others are undergoing treatment at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital, several of them in critical condition, officials said.

Post-mortem examinations of the deceased are also expected to be carried out, with teams from Guwahati Medical College and Hospital arriving.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the accident site on Saturday and announced ex-gratia payments of Rs 5 lakh from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and Rs 2 lakh from the State Disaster Management Authority to the next of kin of each victim.

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This will be in addition to the ex-gratia payment of Rs 2 lakh that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced on Friday for the next of kin of each of the deceased.

“Strict measures will be enforced to ensure such tragedies are not repeated,” Sarma said.