Five people were killed and four others injured after an SUV rammed into a group of villagers who were 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 investigation had been launched into the incident, which occurred late on Wednesday. According to police, the group of villagers was helping Sanjay Tiwari, 33, a clerk working in Karnailganj tehsil and a resident of Tirhata village, who was allegedly hit from behind by a dumper truck while returning home on his motorcycle around 10:30 pm. While villagers were carrying Tiwari across the road to arrange treatment around 10.45 pm, police said a Delhi-registered SUV heading towards Lucknow lost control, rammed into the group at high speed, and jumped a barrier before stopping on the opposite road.
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All nine people who were at the scene, including Sanjay Tiwari, were rushed to Karnailganj Community Health Centre, where doctors declared Hasan Muhammad, 40, his brother Imtiaz Ali, 27, Gulshan, 25, and Sanjay Tiwari dead, officials said.
Gulshan’s 10-year-old nephew Anshuman, who was seriously injured, was referred to Gonda Medical College and later transferred to Lucknow, but succumbed to his injuries in transit.
Altaf, 32, is still undergoing treatment. Vinay (26 years old), Tabrez (20 years old) and Parvez (18 years old) were discharged from the hospital after receiving initial medical care.
“The driver and owner of the SUV have been arrested,” ASP Radhey Shyam Rai said.
