{"id":24870,"date":"2026-08-05T16:46:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/?p=24870"},"modified":"2026-08-05T16:54:33","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T16:54:33","slug":"one-year-on-justice-still-elusive-drivers-renew-demand-for-accountability-over-mihir-debnaths-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/2026\/08\/05\/one-year-on-justice-still-elusive-drivers-renew-demand-for-accountability-over-mihir-debnaths-death\/","title":{"rendered":"One Year On, Justice Still Elusive: Drivers Renew Demand for Accountability Over Mihir Debnath’s Death"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Agartala, August 5:<\/strong> Marking one year since the tragic death of young truck driver Mihir Debnath, members of the All India Driver Kalyan Sangh Bharat observed the day as a memorial programme at Chakmaghat in Teliamura on Wednesday, renewing their demand for complete accountability and stronger protection for the driver community.

Mihir Debnath lost his life on August 5, 2025, after remaining trapped inside an overturned truck for an extended period following a road accident at Chakmaghat. Despite reportedly pleading for rescue, he could not be saved. The incident had triggered widespread public outrage, with allegations that delays in the rescue operation and administrative lapses contributed to his death.

Following the incident, the state government constituted an inquiry committee. As a result of the investigation, the then Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Parimal Majumdar, was dismissed from service, while the District Magistrate was issued a show-cause notice. However, speakers at the programme alleged that no visible action has been taken against the then Sub-Divisional Disaster Management Officer, Amit Roy Chowdhury, who they claimed continues to remain in service. They questioned whether the inquiry had fully addressed accountability.

Addressing the gathering, Shiba Pal, President of the North Tripura District unit of the All India Driver Kalyan Sangh Bharat, said drivers serve the nation and its people round the clock but continue to work without adequate safety and emergency support. He appealed to both the Central and Tripura governments to strengthen protection for drivers across the state.

The organization demanded the deployment of eight recovery vans and two dedicated ambulances in each of Tripura’s eight districts, operating round the clock to ensure the timely rescue of drivers involved in road accidents. According to the speakers, the absence of specialized rescue equipment has repeatedly hampered emergency operations, putting drivers’ lives at greater risk.

The association also referred to a recent incident in Demdum, Unakoti district, where truck driver Liton Kar of Salema in Dhalai district was allegedly assaulted by a mob after his vehicle was involved in a collision with a motorcycle. The speakers claimed that although the driver reportedly tried to help the injured motorcyclist by taking the victim to a hospital, he was attacked by local residents. They criticized public representatives, including local MLAs and ministers, for allegedly remaining silent over the incident.

Describing the organization as a non-political and non-religious platform open to all licensed drivers, the association appealed to the state’s people and Chief Minister Prof. (Dr.) Manik Saha to ensure better welfare measures, legal protection, and security for drivers.

The association further alleged that despite substantial public expenditure on disaster management training and mock drills every year, rescue operations during real emergencies continue to suffer from inadequate equipment, poor coordination, and delayed response.

One year after Mihir Debnath’s death, the association said many questions remain unanswered. Along with the bereaved family, it renewed its demand for complete accountability, improved disaster response mechanisms, and stronger institutional support to ensure that no driver loses their life due to delays in rescue operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Agartala, August 5: Marking one year since the tragic death of young truck driver Mihir Debnath, members of the All India Driver Kalyan Sangh Bharat observed the day as a memorial programme at Chakmaghat in Teliamura on Wednesday, renewing their demand for complete accountability and stronger protection for the driver community. Mihir Debnath lost his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":24869,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[6736],"ppma_author":[1174],"class_list":["post-24870","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tripura","tag-mihir-debnath"],"authors":[{"term_id":1174,"user_id":33,"is_guest":0,"slug":"kamaljamatia","display_name":"kamal jamatia","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/564a074770eb17d36f3af441d462b8a2a809599748f74220740b1d3b52879fcf?s=96&d=https%3A%2F%2Faguli.in%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F07%2FPHOTO-2023-09-14-08-30-32-3.jpg&r=g","author_category":"","first_name":"kamal","last_name":"jamatia","user_url":"http:\/\/www.aguli.in","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24870","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24870"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24870\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24871,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24870\/revisions\/24871"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24870"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24870"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24870"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aguli.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=24870"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}