VARANASI/LUCKOW: Ten pilgrims returning to their homes after a holy dip during the Maha Kumbh were killed in two separate road accidents in Uttar Pradesh on Friday, eight of them falling off the upper deck of a vehicle converted into a double-decker and being crushed under the wheels of a truck, report Rajeev Dikshit & Pathikrit Chakraborty.
Friday’s 10 fatalities takes the total number of such deaths since the start of the world’s largest religious congregation to 38.
The eight crushed to death under a truck were returning to Gorakhpur from Prayagraj in a converted pickup van when the accident occurred in UP’s Ghazipur district on Friday. Eight others were injured in the accident. Two more pilgrims were killed and four others critically injured when their car crashed into a stationary truck near Gurunanak Dhaba in Sitapur, UP, very early on Friday morning.
The Sitapur accident that claimed two lives took place near Barai Jalalpur at around 1.30 am, said Sitapur Sadar SHO Pradeep Singh. “A truck was parked along the highway when a speeding car rammed into it from behind. The impact was so severe that the car was completely mangled,” Singh said. The deceased are Pankaj Mishra (35) of Mankapur, Maholi, and Shyam Bihari (36) of Niyazpur, Maholi.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath expressed condolences on ‘X’ to the bereaved families & directed district officials to ensure the best possible treatment for the injured.
