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Uttar Pradesh: Two run over by convoy linked to Brij Bhushan’s son in Gonda
Luv Kush Srivastava, the driver of the vehicle, which is a Toyota fortuner, was arrested later in the day on charges of reckless driving, among others.
A vehicle allegedly part of BJP Lok Sabha candidate Karan Bhushan Singh’s cavalcade mowed down two people and injured a third person in Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday morning, police said, triggering a political row.
Karan is the son of former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief and Kaiserganj MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who was accused of sexual harassment by the country’s top wrestlers last year. Thirty-year-old Karan was fielded by the BJP from his father’s seat, which went to the polls in the fifth phase on May 20.
Luv Kush Srivastava, the driver of the vehicle, which is a Toyota fortuner, was arrested later in the day on charges of reckless driving, among others.
According to the police, the deceased – Rehan (17) and Shehzad (24), both of whom were cousins – were travelling on a motorbike when they were hit by the vehicle near Baikunth Degree College on Katra Bazar road around 9am. “Both Rehan and Shehzad were run over by the car and died on the spot. The vehicle also lost control and further hit a 60-year-old woman, who was walking on the roadside. The woman, identified as Sita Devi, has been admitted to a hospital and is undergoing treatment,” Karnal Ganj station house officer (SHO) Nirbhay Narayan Singh said.
The deceased’s relatives said they were told by local residents that the car was a part of Karan Bhushan Singh’s convoy of four to five vehicles and that the BJP leader was present in one of them at the time of the accident. They also said that the vehicle that mowed down the deceased was the last in the cavalcade.
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“Rehan and Shehzad were on their way to Katra Bazar when they were run over by the vehicle around 5km from their village Nidhura. After I reached the spot, local residents told me the vehicle was part of Karan Singh’s convoy. They said the cavalcade comprised four to five vehicles and that the politician and his supporters were inside them at the time of the incident,” Rehan’s uncle Farman Khan said. “Local residents also said the vehicle that ran over the deceased rammed into an electric pole after hitting the elderly woman. After its airbags opened, the occupants of the car moved to another vehicle in the convoy, which later proceeded towards Huzurpur,” he added.
While there was no official confirmation from the police on whether the vehicle was a part of Karan Singh’s convoy and whether the BJP leader was present inside one of them at the time of the accident, an officer, who did not wish to be identified, said: “There were four vehicles in the convoy of Karan Bhushan Singh, also the president of the Uttar Pradesh Wrestling Association, who was sitting in the first vehicle.”
HT reached out to Karan Singh and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for a comment but did not get one immediately.
The officer also said the vehicle that hit the motorcycle was at the end of the convoy. The speed of the vehicles in the convoy was above 100 kmph, the officer, who inspected the accident spot, said.
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“This vehicle was also fined ₹2,000 for violating traffic rules on December 21 and the penalty is yet to be paid. ‘Police escort’ was written on the rear windscreen of the vehicle, the officer added.
The vehicle was registered in the name of Nandini Educational Institute in Lucknow, a police officer, who did not wish to be identified, said. Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is the chairman of the institute while his elder son and Gonda MLA Prateek Bhushan Singh is the director, the officer added.
A case under sections 279 (reckless driving), 304-A (causing death by negligence) and 427 (loss to other’s property) of the Indian Penal Code and section 184 (dangerous driving) of the Motor Vehicle’s Act has been registered and a probe is underway, Gonda superintendent of police (SP) Vineet Jaiswal said.
Enraged over the incident, locals and the deceased’s families staged a protest and demanded justice. It was not until senior police officers arrived at the spot and assured them of swift action in the case that they dispersed.
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The accident triggered a political row as opposition parties accused the BJP of treating citizens like “dispensable pawns”.
In a post on X, Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose said: “Shocker. . A car in BJP candidate Karan Bhushan Singh’s (son of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh) convoy mows down two children and injures another. Recall how BJP minister Ajay Mishra Teni’s son Ashish Mishra mowed down protesting farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri in 2021.”
The lawmaker was referring to the Lakhimpur Kheri violence on October 3, 2021, when a vehicle allegedly belonging to Union junior home minister Ajay Mishra Teni mowed down four farmers while they had gathered to protest against the now-repealed farm laws. Ajay’s son, Ashish, is the main accused in the case.
There was no immediate reaction from the BJP.
