Collapsed bridge, GPS glitch, official apathy kill three in Budaun

Police said the GPS showed a clear route on the stretch near Dataganj in Badaun as the bridge in question was in operation till the 2023 floods.

A collapsed bridge, official apathy and glitch in GPS navigation proved fatal for three men aboard a car that fell into a river in Budaun on Sunday morning, police officials said. While the bridge had caved in during flooding in river Ramganga in 2023, the route was neither closed nor were any signages installed to indicate that there was no road ahead.

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Among the three deceased were two residents of Farrukhabad—Amit Kumar and Vivek Kumar, who had hired a taxi to travel from Badaun to Bareilly. The third victim was their friend Ajit Kumar. All of them were aged between 28 and 35 years. Police said the GPS (global positioning system) showed a clear route on the stretch near Dataganj in Badaun as the bridge in question was in operation till the 2023 floods.

“We have spoken to Badaun authorities, and will also send a formal communication to them to block the route,” said Bareilly’s Faridpur circle officer Ashutosh Shivam. He said while the road from Bareilly was blocked by raising a wall, the other stretch was open due to which the accident took place.

He said the bodies of the three deceased were found inside the car when it was pulled out of the water.

The CO confirmed that the incident occurred around 9.30 am, adding that the family members of the two deceased had been informed about the incident. The bodies were sent for postmortem.