Three Kanwariyas on motorbike killed by speeding ambulance at Modinagar; 1 injured

Three kanwariyas were killed and one injured when an ambulance crashed into them on the Delhi-Meerut road; driver in custody but no FIR filed yet.

Ghaziabad Three of four kanwariyas headed to Haridwar on their two-wheelers were killed and one was left severely injured near Kadrabad on Delhi-Meerut road late on Saturday night when an ambulance returning from Meerut rammed their two vehicles.

As per the diversions announced by the traffic police on July 14, the Ghaziabad-Meerut carriageway is presently catering to traffic only going to and from Meerut. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Police said the ambulance belonged to Jeewan Hospital in Modinagar, which is owned by the family of Modinagar MLA, Manju Siwach. The ambulance had no patient onboard at the time of the crash.

Gyan Prakash Rai, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) of Modinagar said the three deceased were identified as Ritik Singh, 23, Abhinav Samaniya, 25, and Sachin Kumar, 38 — all from Ghaziabad while the injured was is Ajay Kumar, 30, from Delhi’s Harsh Vihar.

The ambulance driver Monu Pal, 30, is in police custody and no FIR has been registered so far, police said.

Police said the incident happened around 11pm on Saturday and all four injured were rushed to a hospital in Meerut, where three of them succumbed during treatment.

When contacted, MLA Siwach said the life-support ambulance was returning to Modinagar after dropping off a patient.

“It is an unfortunate incident. The driver, along with an attendant, was returning from Meerut after dropping off a patient. The driver of the ambulance lost balance as he was trying to avoid some commuters on the road. He was driving on his side, and the vehicle was not at high speed. After the incident, the attendant was also thrashed by people on the road,” Siwach claimed.

The Delhi-Meerut road is a major Kanwar Yatra route and has traffic police personnel present during the ongoing yatra. One carriageway (Meerut-Ghaziabad) is out of bounds for local commuters and vehicular traffic as it is reserved completely for kanwariyas returning from Haridwar.

As per the diversions announced by the traffic police on July 14, the Ghaziabad-Meerut carriageway is presently catering to traffic only going to and from Meerut.

“The ambulance is seized, and the driver is in police custody. However, no FIR is lodged in the case, and none of the family members of the deceased or the injured have arrived to give a complaint. We will register an FIR as soon as we receive any complaint,” the ACP added.