Guwahati: What began as an ordinary school run ended in unspeakable tragedy on Tuesday morning.
A father and his son were killed in a devastating road accident on the Moran bypass near Khatkhati in Dibrugarh district of upper Assam.
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According to reports , the victims have been identified as Khagen Baruah, a resident of Pani Tola in Moran and his 13-year-old son, Jugal Kishore, a Class 8 student.
The duo was reportedly travelling in a Bolero pickup truck when it collided head-on with a Hyundai Exter.
The impact was catastrophic.
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Jugal died instantly at the scene, while Khagen, who sustained critical injuries, was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed shortly after.
The shattered remains of the Bolero on the roadside told the silent story of a family torn apart within seconds.
Police have cited rash driving as the probable cause of the collision.
However, the accident has reignited long-standing local concerns over road safety on the Moran bypass, a stretch notorious for frequent accidents.
Residents allege the road has become a death trap due to unchecked speeding, poor traffic monitoring, and a lack of basic safety infrastructure.
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“Every week, we hear of lives being lost here. Today it was a father and son. Tomorrow it could be any one of us,” said a local shopkeeper, his voice heavy with frustration. Another villager lamented,
“A child left home in his school uniform this morning and never returned. How many more deaths before authorities act?”
The tragedy has triggered a wave of grief across Pani Tola, where Khagen was remembered as a hardworking family man and Jugal as a bright student with a promising future.
Their sudden deaths have not only devastated their family but also jolted the wider community.
As the villagers prepared for funerals, the atmosphere was one of anger mixed with sorrow. Community leaders are now calling for immediate government intervention, including stricter traffic enforcement, installation of speed breakers, and round-the-clock patrolling on the bypass.
For Assam, where road fatalities continue to climb, the Moran accident is another grim reminder of the cost of ignoring road safety.
For one family, however, it is the unbearable reality of having lost both a father and son on what was meant to be a simple school journey.