3 children killed in Siliguri as truck overturns while loading illegally-mined sand

EOI, SILIGURI, MARCH 6, 2023 : Two children and a youth were crushed to death in Siliguri in the early hours of Monday when they were allegedly loading illegally-mined sand on a truck, which overturned on them, the police said. The incident happened at the bank of river Balason in Tripalijot in Matigara police station area, they said. 

The three boys were identified as Rohit Sahani (15), Shyamal Sahani (15) and Munu Kumar (20)The three boys were loading sand, mined illegally from the river which has gone dry, onto a truck late in the night. The vehicle overturned as it got heavy on one side, leading to a disturbed balance, police said. 

The bodies were found after daybreak when local people saw the overturned truck. Police used a bulldozer to remove the truck, and bring out the bodies buried in the sand. The bodies were sent to the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem. 

Police said they were on the hunt for those mining sand illegally from the riverbed. An investigation is underway, they said. The district administration has banned all kinds of sand stone mining in the Balason river since January last. But, sand stones are being stolen freely in the darkness of the night.