Five people were killed and four others sustained injuries after an SUV ploughed through a group of villagers helping an accident victim on the Gonda-Lucknow highway in Uttar Pradesh’s Gonda district, police said on Thursday.
District magistrate Priyanka Niranjan said an inquiry has been launched into the incident, which took place late on Wednesday.
According to police, the group of villagers were helping Sanjay Tiwari, 33, a clerk posted at Karnailganj tehsil and a resident of Tarhata village, who was allegedly hit from behind by a dumper while returning home on his motorcycle around 10.30 pm.
As villagers were carrying Tiwari across the road to arrange treatment around 10.45pm, police said a Delhi-registered SUV travelling towards Lucknow allegedly lost control, rammed into the group at high speed, and jumped the divider before stopping on the opposite carriageway.
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Officials said all nine people at the scene, including Sanjay Tiwari, were rushed to the Karnailganj Community Health Centre, where doctors declared Hasan Mohammad, 40, his brother Imtiyaz Ali, 27, Gulshan, 25 and Sanjay Tiwari dead.
Gulshan’s 10-year-old nephew, Anshuman, who was critically injured, was referred to Gonda Medical College and later shifted to Lucknow, but succumbed to injuries in transit.
Altaf, 32, remains under treatment. Vinay, 26, Tabrez, 20, and Parvez, 18, were discharged after receiving primary medical care.
ASP Radhey Shyam Rai said, “The SUV driver and its owner have been detained.”
