2 Uttarakhand men crushed to death under dumper after their bike hits Nilgai
The men belonged to Ratanpura village under Bazpur police station and were on their way to Garjiya temple of Ramnagar in Nainital.
Two men were crushed under a dumper while another person sustained severe injuries in Bazpur area of Uttarakhand's US Nagar on Friday after their bike hit a Nilgai. The animal, which was pregnant, couldn’t be saved and died while receiving treatment, said an official.
Sanjay Pandey, inspector, Bazpur police station, said, “We rushed to the spot and two of them had succumbed to the injuries by then. One who had sustained severe injuries was rushed to the hospital.”
Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), also called Blue Cow, is the largest Asian antelope found across the north Indian subcontinent. It is categorised as of Least Concern by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural resources (IUCN). In India, it is protected under Schedule III of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
Pandey said the three men belonged to Ratanpura village under Bazpur police station. They on their way to Garjiya temple of Ramnagar in Nainital on a bike at about 11 am on Friday.
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“When they reached near a stone crusher at Bannakhera, a Nilgai suddenly jumped before them to cross the road. They lost control over the bike after hitting the wild animal and fell on the road. A speeding dumper loaded with sand crushed two of them. The third man sustained severe injuries”, he said.
Pandey said the deceased have been identified as Aman Kumar, 21 and Rohit Kumar, 16, while the one who sustained severe injuries has been identified as Vinod Kumar. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem, he added.
He said the dumper driver has also been nabbed and his vehicle has been seized. “Police are waiting for the complaint from the deceased’s families to register a case,” he said.
Nandan Prasad Aagri, a veterinary doctor of Bannakhera veterinary hospital, said, “The Nilgai was three-to four-years-old and was in an advanced stage of pregnancy. It had a tail cut and fracture in the rear left leg. The animal was suffering from internal bleeding too and couldn't be saved.”
He said Nilgai died due to injuries and shock while it was being brought to the Bannakhera forest outpost in a tractor. Its body was buried after a post-mortem, he said.