Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Saturday that the state would tighten traffic enforcement after a head-on collision in Golaghat district killed 26 people the previous day, and ordered a detailed investigation into the crash near Kaziranga.
Sarma visited the accident site on Saturday afternoon. “A detailed investigation is underway, and we will look at every possible cause behind this tragedy,” he said.
The chief minister said his government had earlier relaxed traffic rules and called that decision wrong. In a post on X after the visit, he wrote: “I admit that some traffic decisions were relaxed at the Nalbari Cabinet meeting because of political pressure. Even then, I felt we should not have given in, and it will not happen again. We will bring back strict traffic rules and enforce them firmly, because people’s lives come first.”
Compensation for bereaved families
Sarma announced ₹7 lakh in state compensation for the families of each person killed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced ₹2 lakh from the central government for each bereaved family on Friday. Sarma said each family would receive ₹9 lakh in total. “No amount of money can make up for such a loss, especially for families who have lost more than one member, but we will make sure no family faces this alone,” he wrote.
He condoled with the families and said he would personally visit their homes. The compensation would be handed over soon, he added.
Overloading, a removed speed limiter and prior fines
Golaghat Senior Superintendent of Police Swapnaneel Deka told the chief minister that the driver of the Force Traveller was a repeat offender who had violated traffic rules and had allegedly tampered with the vehicle’s speed-limiting device (SLD). The 27-seater vehicle was carrying 41 passengers when it collided head-on with a truck near Kaziranga on Friday.
Deka said the vehicle’s brakes were not in good condition. The SLD, which transport department records listed as installed, had been removed. It was set to limit the vehicle’s speed to 80 kmph, while the speed limit on the Kaziranga stretch is 40 kmph. The SSP said the driver removed the device after it was installed.
Sarma said some drivers deliberately disconnected the wires of speed-limiting devices to bypass restrictions even as official records continued to show that the vehicles were equipped with them.
Transport department records showed the Traveller had 12 challans totaling ₹38,500, all of which had been paid, while another ₹4,000 remained outstanding. On March 3, the vehicle was fined in Jorhat for travelling at 102 kmph.
Deka said the minibus started from Golaghat with eight passengers at around noon and was heading towards Nagaon. “It started with eight persons and it kept picking more passengers. Between Bokakhat and Kohora, many students boarded the bus and the driver allowed much more than the capacity,” he said.
Driver’s age, dashcam footage and possible causes
After the site visit, Sarma told the media that special teams had been deployed to investigate the accident and that the bodies had been sent for post-mortem examinations. He said police had told him the driver was 64 and believed that something had happened to him, causing him to lose control and hit the truck. The collision occurred around 3pm. Sarma said he did not believe that was a time for drivers to become intoxicated and that the driver could have suffered a stroke, a possibility that would be examined. The post-mortem report would shed light on the matter, he said.
Referring to dashcam footage from the vehicle, Sarma said the road appeared relatively clear and there was no other vehicle immediately alongside the Traveller when the accident occurred. He said a cyclist crossing the road at the time could be an important witness. Golaghat police confirmed that the footage was genuine and had been retrieved from the vehicle’s camera system.
Sarma said the Traveller appeared to have been travelling at more than 120 kmph when he watched the footage, although its speed would have to be established through the investigation. He reiterated that the speed limit on the Kaziranga stretch is 40 kmph and said overloading, speeding and other traffic violations would invite stricter action.
The chief minister pointed to an increase in road accident deaths in Assam over the past two to three years and said the latest incident had reinforced the need for stricter enforcement. He said the government would crack down on overloading, speeding, drunk driving, helmet and seat-belt violations, and vehicles that did not meet fitness requirements.
Victims identified
The state government on Saturday morning released the names of 25 of the 26 people killed. One male passenger who died at Jorhat Medical College and Hospital remained unidentified. The dead included 14 women and 12 men, including a child.
Ten of the deceased were from Golaghat district: Baby Karmakar/Munda (age not stated), Darpana Majhi (15), Jyoti Majhi (20), Purnima Gowala (30), Anurag Gowala (6–8), Ranjita Khatuwar (26), Sushil Bhumij (27), Sujata Tanti (25), Jayanti Rabidas (24) and Lakhi Majhi (20).
The deceased from other districts included Dipanjali Rangpharphi (18), from Karbi Anglong; Damini Ghatuwal (18), Ganga Gowala (50), Foizul Islam (40), Abdul Rashid Ali (70), Subhash Das (45), Abdul Majid (55), Faruk Ahmed (28), Mina Mizar (45), Farhana Yasmin (21), Md Ali (37) and Akhim Phukan (53), all from Nagaon district; and Dipak Gurung (42), from Sonitpur district. Md Rafiq Ali (38), from Madhubani in Bihar, was also among the deceased.
Farhana Yasmin was a seventh-semester student of Government Model College, Kaziranga. Students and college authorities paid their last respects to her on the campus on Saturday. Her classmates appealed to the state government to strengthen road monitoring and vigilance, particularly to prevent speeding and overloading.