At least ten devotees returning from the Maha Kumbh congregation lost their lives in two separate road accidents in Bihar’s Bhojpur district and Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur area within a span of 12 hours, police said on Friday.
In the first incident, a Baleno car carrying six people from Patna crashed into a parked truck on the Ara-Mohania National Highway near a petrol pump in Dulhinganj market under the jurisdiction of Jagdishpur police station. The tragic accident occurred around 3:30 am on Friday, killing all six occupants on the spot.
According to police, the car, which was returning from Prayagraj, likely lost control before colliding with the truck. Upon receiving information about the accident, Jagdishpur police station house officer (SHO) Bigau Ram, along with additional SHO Jayant Prakash and a police team, rushed to the site.
“With the help of locals, the police extricated all six bodies from the wreckage and sent them to Ara Sadar Hospital for postmortem examination,” an officer stated.
The victims have been identified as 62-year-old Sanjay Kumar, his 58-year-old wife Karuna Devi, their 25-year-old son Lal Babu Singh, their 20-year-old niece Priyam Kumari, and two other relatives, 25-year-old Juhi Rani and 25-year-old Asha Kiran, all residents of Patna.
Kumar’s sister, Kusum Devi, who was traveling in a separate vehicle with six others, recounted that their group of 13 had left for the Maha Kumbh on Wednesday night. They were returning to Patna in separate cars on Thursday night when the accident occurred. “As soon as their Baleno car reached near the petrol pump, it went out of control and collided with a parked truck,” she said.
In the second incident, a car carrying five devotees from Araria in Bihar’s Purnea district crashed into a truck on the Varanasi-Gorakhpur four-lane highway in Uttar Pradesh’s Ghazipur area around 10 pm on Thursday.
Four of the five passengers – Soni Yadav, niece of Purnea Member of Parliament (MP) Pappu Yadav, her aunt Gayatri Devi, medical representative Vipin Mandal, and their driver Salauddin – died on the spot. The sole survivor, Soni’s assistant Deepak Jha, was injured and rushed to a hospital for treatment.
Authorities have initiated an investigation into both accidents, with preliminary reports pointing to driver fatigue and loss of control as possible causes. The tragic incidents have once again highlighted the dangers of long road journeys, particularly during major religious gatherings like the Maha Kumbh.
Sources By Agencies
