SHILLONG : East Khasi Hills police have launched a manhunt to trace the driver and vehicle involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident at Golflink, Shillong, late on Sunday night, in which two teenagers were killed.
According to East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem, an 18-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl were riding a scooty when they were allegedly hit by an unidentified vehicle.
The victims were rushed to Civil Hospital, Shillong, but were declared brought dead. The deceased have been identified as Benjamin Shabong, 18, from Mawpun, and Fabela Grace, 17, from Pynthor.
SP Syiem said police responded within minutes after receiving information about the accident.
“I got the information first and alerted Pasteur and Sardar Traffic. They reached the spot in under five minutes,” the SP said.
A case has been registered under Unnatural Death (UD), while police are making efforts to identify and trace the vehicle involved in the accident.
“We are working to identify the vehicle that was involved. Once identified, we will arrest the driver,” Syiem said.
Investigators will also examine the post-mortem reports to determine whether factors such as alcohol consumption or the victims’ alertness played any role in the accident. The traffic police will conduct a parallel investigation to establish responsibility for the incident.
The SP said the driver should have stopped after the accident and surrendered to the authorities.
“From the FIR, it is clear the driver should have stopped and surrendered. Since he fled, it shows fault on his part. We have registered cases against both the driver and the vehicle. We will track it down,” he added.
Police are continuing efforts to identify the vehicle and locate the driver involved in the fatal accident.