Six people were killed and two others seriously injured when a speeding loader hit them on Jhansi-Mirzapur national highway in Chitrakoot district on Saturday morning, police said.
The deaths sparked off a protest as hundreds of people blocked the highway. District magistrate (DM) Subhrant Shukla and superintendent of police (SP) Atul Sharma reached the site and pacified the angry crowd.
The victims hailing from Jari village in Banda district had come to attend a marriage ceremony in Rauli Kalayanpur village in Chitrakoot. They were sitting on the roadside when the accident occurred, said Chitrakoot additional superintendent of police Shailendra Rai.
Expressing grief over the deaths, chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials to immediately provide proper treatment to the injured. He announced a compensation of ₹2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and ₹50,000 each to those injured. The CM also instructed the officials to take strict action against the driver of the vehicle involved in the mishap.
Circle officer (CO), city, Shitla Prasad Pandey said the police were looking for the driver who managed to flee the scene. According to reports, the tomato-laden loader from Attara was heading towards Karvi when it went out of control leading to the mishap.
The deceased were identified as Naresh (35), Ramroop (25), Chhakka (32), Arvind (21), Somdutt (25) (groom’s brother-in-law) and Bhanu Pratap (32). The injured were identified as Bhagwan Das (45) and Ramnarayan (and their condition was stated to be critical, the police said.
The deceased were identified as Naresh (35), Ramroop (25), Chhakka (32), Arvind (21), Somdutt (25) (groom’s brother-in-law) and Bhanu Pratap (32). The injured were identified as Bhagwan Das (45) and Ramnarayan (and their condition was stated to be critical, the police said.