5 kanwariyas killed in accident in Outer Delhi

According to police, a PCR call about the accident was made around 12.44 am. DCP (Outernorth) Ravi Kumar Singh said, “When we reached the spot, we found that a truck going towards Delhi crossed the divider at GTK Road and rammed into another truck which had 20-23 kanwar yatris. At least 14 people were injured.”

The injured were sent to Satyawadi Raja Harish Chandra Hospital in Narela where four of them were declared dead on arrival by doctors. Two more pilgrims were referred to Balaji Action Centre in Paschim Vihar where one succumbed to the injuries.

The deceased have been identified as Sandeep Kumar (32), Rajat Kumar (24), Aryan Singh (19), Jagminder Balhara (56) and Raju (37). Police said Sandeep, Rajat and Aryan were residents of Delhi while Jagminder had come from Gurgaon. Five other persons — Lokesh Jha (27), Naveen Rai (30), Shubham Giri (20), Shiva Kumar (28) and Sandeep Chandra (30) — are undergoing treatment at BJRM Hospital in Jahangirpuri. The other nine injured persons have been sent to different hospitals and are stable. One of the injured persons, Kamal Aggarwal (47), was the coordinator for the yatra.

Jagmohan (47), among the injured persons, filed a police complaint about the accident. “He told us they were all going towards Haridwar when a truck came and hit their truck from the side. The impact was such that the entire truck was damaged and everyone was injured… locals and police came to rescue them,” said a senior police officer.

Police said a case of rash driving and causing death by negligence has been registered against the accused driver, Pappu Kumar from Kannauj. Police said teams are also in touch with the victims and hospitals.

Police said Pappu works for Ma Jagdamba Road Lines in SGT Nagar. “He had loaded rice from the Kaithal area and unloaded them at Hamidpur. He was later going to Azadpur to refuel the vehicle when the accident occurred,” said police.