8 die after car-bus collide on Jaipur-Ajmer highway on way to Maha Kumbh

The car was heading towards Uttar Pradesh from Bhilwara, while the bus carrying at least 30 to 40 people was heading towards Jodhpur from Jaipur

Jaipur: At least eight people travelling to Maha Kumbh were killed and six others injured on Thursday after their car collided with a roadways bus on the Jaipur-Ajmer highway in Rajasthan’s Dudu area, police said.

Around 3.30 pm on Thursday, the bus driver lost control after one of the front tires burst. The bus crashed into the car travelling on the opposite road (HT Photo/Representative)

“The car was heading towards Uttar Pradesh from Bhilwara, while the bus carrying at least 30 to 40 people was heading towards Jodhpur from Jaipur. Around 3.30 pm on Thursday, the bus driver lost control after one of the front tires burst. The bus crashed into the car travelling on the opposite road,” Jaipur superintendent of police (SP), rural, Anand Sharma said.

Police identified the deceased as Dinesh Regar, Suresh Regar, Ravi Kant Regar, Babu Regar, Bablu Mewara, Kishan Lal, Narayan Bairwa, and Pramod Suthar, all residents of Bhilwara’s Kotri area.

Sharma said the Regar family and some of their friends were headed to UP’s Prayagraj to attend the Maha Kumbh when their car met with the accident. The impact of the accident was so intense that the car was completely smashed, killing all eight passengers.

“The locals rushed them to the hospital, where all were declared dead on arrival by the doctors. The bodies were sent for a postmortem examination. Six to seven of them with minor injuries were discharged from the hospital after primary treatment,” Sharma said.

A case of negligence leading to death was registered at the local police station. “We are probing whether the bus was fit to run and also whether any negligence occurred on the driver’s part. Further investigation is underway,” Sharma added.