Mob strikes truck, torches hutments after accident kills woman in Ponda

Ponda: A 200-strong mob of locals smashed the windscreen of a truck and torched some hutments on Sunday evening at Warkhandem in Ponda after an accident led to the death of a woman and left her seven-year-old son severely injured.The accident occurred on an internal road in Warkhandem, when a truck hit Swati Rathod’s scooter while turning to enter a construction site. The truck involved in the accident was used for shifting soil from the site and was returning after emptying the soil at the time of the incident.Police said Rathod was a resident of Haveli, Ponda.The mob broke the windscreen of the truck allegedly responsible for the accident. Witnesses said there was a significant delay in police personnel arriving at the site.Later South Goa SP Tikam Singh Verma visited the site.The woman and her son were rushed to the Ponda sub-district hospital for treatment but the woman succumbed to her injuries before she could be administered medical aid. Her son was referred to the GMC, Bambolim, for further treatment, said sources.The mob walked towards the construction site to which the truck was linked and torched the hutments erected to house the construction workers. An excavator on site was also set on fire.The SP said he will investigate why Ponda police reached the crime scene after about one-and-a-half hours despite the police station being about 500m away. Verma said he will initiate action against the personnel if found at fault.The SP said that the truck driver was detained and the process to register an offence of the fatal accident was ongoing.Locals said that truck drivers often drive recklessly on this narrow internal road despite being confronted by them on several occasions.The mob prevented the people from recording the burning of the temporary shelter at the construction site.