GUWAHATI: Meghalaya police have denied receiving complaints of road mishaps occurring because of “deliberate oil spillage” on the Guwahati-Shillong route to allegedly make cars skid on to roadside ditches.
A few months back, there have been media reports of allegations by travellers from here to Shillong of a “racket” involved in the activity with an aim to tow the vehicle back on to the road for a “hefty” sum.
Now, a Facebook post by a resident of Adabari here alleging the same after his vehicle skidded on to a ditch near Umiam on April 14 has raised fresh concerns.
“I was driving my car at about 45 kmph when the vehicle suddenly skidded and landed up in a roadside ditch. Fortunately, nothing serious happened even as my wife sustained mild injuries and my car was partially damaged,” Hannan, a businessman, told The Shillong Times on Saturday.
He said he suspected deliberate spilling of oil on the rain-soaked road, especially on sharp turns, so that the cars skid and get stuck in small ditches.
Speaking to this correspondent on Saturday, B. Blah, officer in-charge of Umiam police station, however denied receiving any such complaints.
“We have not received any such reports of such activities to make cars skid. There have been mishaps on the route but not because of oil spillage on the road,” Blah said.
The Facebook video uploaded by Hannan apparently had shots of oil-like substances on the wet road.
“We called up police immediately after the mishap and subsequently two men reached the spot in a car. They were dressed in plain clothes and also had a tow truck with them. When I asked whether they came from the police station or on their own, they replied that it was a private car. They charged between Rs 4000 and Rs 5000 to get the vehicle out of the ditch,” Hannan added.
He further said that through the post on social media he wanted to make people aware of the dangers involved on the route and the ordeal that he had to go through.
Reacting to the post, some people recalled about experiencing similar mishaps on the route in the past.