A tragic road accident on National Highway 48 near Peepli village in Rajasthan’s Udaipur district claimed two lives and left at least 13 passengers injured on Wednesday night. The incident occurred under the jurisdiction of the Rishabhdev police station when a private bus rammed into a truck from behind at high speed.

According to police officials, the bus was travelling from Gorakhpur to Surat when the collision took place. The impact was so severe that the front portion and driver’s cabin of the bus were completely crushed. The bus driver succumbed to his injuries, making him one of the two deceased in the accident.

Rishabhdev police station house officer Hemant Ahari stated that preliminary investigations suggest overspeeding as the primary cause of the crash. The truck driver allegedly fled the scene with the vehicle immediately after the accident, prompting police to launch a search operation to trace him.

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Emergency response teams rushed to the spot following the incident and carried out rescue operations. The injured passengers were shifted to various hospitals in Udaipur for treatment, while the bodies of the deceased were sent to the Rishabhdev mortuary for post-mortem examination. Authorities are still working to confirm the identities of the victims.

Traffic on the busy highway was disrupted for several hours until the damaged bus was removed using a crane. During inspection of the bus’s luggage compartment, police recovered a large quantity of illegal liquor packed in wooden boxes.

Officials suspect the liquor was being smuggled into Gujarat under the cover of passenger transport. A separate investigation has now been initiated to uncover the smuggling network and determine those involved in the illegal operation, police said.

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