Shillong, Nov 18: Two students of the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) were critically injured after a speeding car driven by a security guard rammed into them.
The incident occurred at around 7:30 pm near Gate-2 of the university.
CCTV showed the vehicle speeding towards the students throwing them into the air. The vehicle also hit a scooty.
East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem said the vehicle, bearing registration number ML 05 J 4916 was driven by Parmen M. Sangma. Medical examination confirmed that he had consumed alcohol, he said.
The SP said Sangma is working as the security guard of NEIGRIHMS and was staying in a barrack within the NEHU campus.
The victims have been identified as Daritngen Ponduhkhei (20) and Stephanie Shadap (22), both from the Chemistry Department.
Both students were initially rushed to Civil Hospital, but due to the severity of their injuries, they were later referred to the ICU of Nazareth Hospital.
The security guard has been detained and the vehicle seized, police said, adding that an investigation is underway.
Meanwhile, the university has strongly condemned the incident and said an FIR has been filed, and that a “concerned section of the university” has been instructed to prepare and submit a detailed report at the earliest.
NEHU also extended its support, sympathy, and prayers to the injured students and their families. It said it is in contact with the families and monitoring the condition of the students and committed to cooperate with law enforcement and hospital authorities.
The University has also appealed to the media and general public to delete and remove video footage or images of the accident circulating on social media or other platforms. “The continued sharing of such graphic content is causing immense mental anguish and constitutes a serious invasion of privacy at a critical moment for the families,” NEHU Registrar in charge Prof Saurabh Kumar Dixit said.
