Guwahati, April 26: In a horrific pre-dawn accident, three young women lost their lives after a speeding car slammed into a stationary truck near a hospital gate in the Matgharia area of the city, triggering a major police investigation and a manhunt for the absconding driver.
The victims have been identified as Puja Saha (26) from Goalpara, Akanksha Saikia (23) from Gaurisagar in Sivasagar, and Armina Ahmed, a B.Tech student of Assam Down Town University and daughter of a CRPF personnel posted in Bongaigaon.
According to police, the car—bearing registration number AS01GP0562—was travelling at high speed when it rammed into a parked truck with such force that the vehicle was completely mangled. Two occupants died on the spot, while the third, who was trapped inside the wreckage, was rescued in critical condition but later succumbed to her injuries at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). Puja Saha and Akanksha Saikia were working at Royal Global University.
Traffic officials said the impact caused the car to hit a divider and overturn multiple times. Rescue teams had to use heavy equipment, including a bulldozer, to extricate the victims from the twisted metal.
The driver, identified as Samim Ahmed, fled the scene immediately after the crash and remains untraceable. Police have launched a search operation and are probing whether negligence, overspeeding, or other factors led to the fatal accident.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that the vehicle was rented from a travel agency. Authorities are now attempting to contact those linked to the agency, even as their phones remain switched off. The truck involved in the crash has also been seized, and efforts are underway to trace its owner.
Senior police officials, including DCP Jayanta Sarathi Borah, visited the accident site, while forensic teams began reconstructing the sequence of events.
The tragedy has left families and friends in shock. A close acquaintance of Akanksha Saikia said she had informed her paying guest accommodation that she would be staying overnight with a friend—hours before the fatal crash.
Police said further investigation is ongoing to establish the exact circumstances behind the accident, even as questions mount over speeding and accountability on city roads.
