Days before wedding, groom-to-be and nephew killed in crash

Nilagiri: A road accident has claimed the lives of a man and his nephew, just two days before the former’s scheduled wedding. The incident occurred early Wednesday morning in this area of Balasore district.

According to reports, the wedding of Harekrushna Mahalik, 32, of Gobara village under Narasinghpur panchayat, was scheduled for Friday. He was travelling in a car (MH 02 CR6773) along with his nephew, Jyotishankar Mahalik, 20. They were supposed to pick up a friend from Sheragada Wednesday. However, a dumper (OD 01 G-4477) hit the car near Baligohiri Square on State Highway 19, which connects Sheragada–Nilagiri–Jharanaghati to Mayurbhanj district. Harekrushna died on the spot while a critically injured Jyotishankar was rushed to a private hospital in Bhubaneswar, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

The accident triggered tension in the area. Angry villagers and family members staged a road blockade demanding justice and compensation. Nilagiri tehsildar Sonam Das, SDPO Pramod Mallick and IIC Gobardhan Nayak reached the spot and assured strict action and compensation to the victims’ families, following which the blockade was withdrawn.

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