Three Begusarai friends perish in Katihar accident

• 3 friends belonged to Begusarai, on their way to Darjeeling when a truck hit their SUV
• Truck driver lost his balance while overtaking near the police camp and crashed into the SUV
• Victims identified as Saurabh Gautam, Rajnish Kumar alias Gaurav, Kumar Abhinav alias Rishu

Three friends died in a road accident on National Highway-31 in Katihar district in the wee hours of Sunday. They belonged to Begusarai and were on their way to Darjeeling when a truck hit their SUV. They were stuck in the car and died on the spot.

The incident took place around 3 am near Katariya Simargach under Kursela police station. According to the police, the truck driver lost his balance while overtaking near the police camp and crashed into the SUV. The truck driver managed to escape. A police patrol went to the scene. The broken bodies were removed by cutting open the front of the car.

Officers are reviewing CCTV footage to identify the driver

The victims have been identified as Saurabh Gautam (30), son of late Ashutosh Kumar Singh of Ratanpur in Begusarai, Rajnish Kumar alias Gaurav (27), son of Ramesh Prasad Singh and Kumar Abhinav alias Rishu (28), son of Amitabh Poddar, resident of Mungeriganj (ward 33). Their family members have been informed.

SHO Prahlad Kumar said the bodies were handed over to their relatives after postmortem. "Police were examining CCTV footage from nearby areas to identify the truck driver," he said.

“Three left Begusarai for Darjeeling on Saturday at 11.30 pm. Saurabh, who was the principal of a private school in Begusarai, bought a new car about a month ago and took his friends on a short vacation,” the SHO said.

Saurabh was survived by his wife and two children, while drug dealer Rajnish and banker Abhinav were unmarried.