Seven members of a family, including three children, were killed in the early hours of Friday in Bulandshahr when a bus ran over them while they were sleeping on the roadside, police said.
The deceased, including four women devotees and their three children, were residents of Mohanpura village, in Chandpa police station area of Hathras district.
They were on their way back from the Vaishno Devi shrine and were sleeping on the roadside when the tragedy happened near Gandhighat, on the bank of river Ganga, in Narora town of Bulandshahar district, police said.
Senior superintendent of police Santosh Kumar Singh said the driver of the bus escaped from the scene, even as locals gathered there and protested against the incident. Police later talked to the people and managed to convince them to end their protest, he said.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the tragedy and announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased. Yogi has also instructed officials to ensure strict action against those who are responsible for the incident, a UP public relations department letter said.
Police said a group of 56 villagers and their relatives had gone to Vaishno Devi on October 3. They were on their way back to their village and their bus reached Narora at 2.30 am. The driver then decided to take rest before moving further and parked the vehicle along the roadside near Gandhighat. Meanwhile, some devotees decided to sleep on the roadside.
{{/usCountry}}Police said a group of 56 villagers and their relatives had gone to Vaishno Devi on October 3. They were on their way back to their village and their bus reached Narora at 2.30 am. The driver then decided to take rest before moving further and parked the vehicle along the roadside near Gandhighat. Meanwhile, some devotees decided to sleep on the roadside.
{{/usCountry}}“At around 4 am, a speeding bus ran over the seven devotees, killing them on the spot,” said circle officer of Dibai area Vikram Singh.
Sub divisional magistrate (SDM) Sanjay Kumar said the bodies had been sent for post mortem examination and the relatives of the deceased were informed about the incident.
The deceased have been identified Phoolwati (65), her daughter Sheela (35) and grand-daughter Yogita (5); Mala Devi (32) and her daughter Kalpana (4) and Renu (22) and her daughter Sanjana (4).
(With agency inputs)