Nine persons were killed and seven others injured, four critically, in a jeep accident at Bogatan Rural Municipality-6 in Doti district on Friday night. 

The vehicle (Se 1 Ja 491) operated by Shaileshwori Transportation Committee skidded off the slippery dirt road and plunged some 400 metres below at around 9:45pm, according to police. The ill-fated jeep was heading to Gawara Chautara of Bogatan from Dipayal, the district headquarters of Doti.

Police have identified the deceased as jeep driver Bishnu Negi of Shikhar Municipality-1, Bishnu Bahadur Magar, Budho Gharti Magar, Gorakh Thapa, Lalita Devi Pun Magar, Shashi Ram Pun, Tek Bahadur Pun, Chandra Bahadur Gharti Magar and Bhim Bahadur Gharti Magar of Bogatan-1. 

According to DSP Shiva Bahadur Singh, two of the seriously injured have been referred to Nepalgunj while four others are receiving treatment at Sujung Hospital in Dipayal. A passenger who had sustained minor injuries returned home after treatment. 

The passengers who survived the accident have blamed driver’s negligence for the 

accident. 

“It was raining and the dirt road was slippery, but the driver would not slow the speed,” said Bir Bahadur Gharti Magar, who was injured in the accident, adding that he even suspected that the driver had consumed alcohol as he had stopped the jeep at Bayal Bazaar for a while. 

Most of the victims are from the same settlement and had been to Doti to receive compensation for the land that has been acquired for the construction Budhi Ganga Hydropower Project.