Man run over by car,‘Rajnath cavalcade’ blamed

The cavalcade did not stop to help the man,who later succumbed to his injuries at the CSM Medical University Trauma Centre in Lucknow. He was identified as Gurcharan (50) of Katka village.

Rajnath was on his way to attend a party event at Bahraich.

Station Officer of Ram Nagar Deenanath Mishra confirmed the incident but said he had not received any complaint to lodge an FIR. He said there were witnesses to the accident,but none could identify the vehicle in Rajnath’s cavalcade that hit the victim.

Rajnath,later contacted on phone in Balrampur,denied that any vehicle in his cavalcade was involved. “The accident took place 10 minutes after my cavalcade had passed. Some other vehicle hit the man. I came to know about the incident when I reached Balrampur,” he said.

However,Purohit Kashyap,an acquaintance of Gurcharan who was riding another bicycle and witnessed the accident,said they had come to Ram Nagar market to buy fertiliser. On their way home,at Mahadeva crossing near Ram Nagar,Gurcharan turned his bicycle towards the road to his village when a speeding SUV,flying a BJP flag,hit him.

Gurcharan was thrown on the road,but the vehicle did not stop even for a second,said Kashyap.

The victim,who was injured in the head,was rushed to the Barabanki district hospital by Kashyap and others. From there,he was referred to the trauma centre at Lucknow,where he died during treatment.

Gurcharan’s brother Shiv Narayan,who later reached the trauma centre,said he would lodge a complaint after returning to Barabanki tomorrow.