Road mishap kills 18,two babus suspended

The police said the private bus suffered major damage because,first it overturned while trying to overtake a tempo,and was next hit by the UPSTRC bus coming from the opposite direction.

Gorakhpur SSP Ashutosh Kumar said 16 passengers of the private bus were killed. Most of the victims are were local residents.

A magisterial inquiry has been ordered by Gorakhpur Commissioner into the incident.

According to the police,the private bus was coming towards Gorakhpur from Siddharth Nagar,while the UPSRTC bus was on its way to Nepal border at Sunauli from Gorakhpur.

Local people pulled out the injured persons from the vehicles and rushed them to the district hospital where doctors referred them to BRD Medical College. The doctors stated the condition of some of the injured persons was critical.

The Gorakhpur-Sunauli road was blocked for almost two hours after the accident.

In a press-release issued in the evening,the state government stated prima facie it inquiry reveals that the buses were overloaded and were moving on a wrong route. The release also states that two assistant regional transport officers (ARTO) have been put under suspension for negligence of duty. The suspended officials are ARTO, Gorakhpur Manoj Kumar Verma and ARTO,Maharajganj Anil Kumar Singh.

The state government has announced a compensation of Rs one lakh to the kin of the deceased,Rs 25,000 to the seriously injured persons and Rs 10,000 to those who suffered minor injuries.

The UPSRTC has offered to pay Rs 50,000 to the dependents of the dead,Rs 10,000 to the seriously injured and Rs 5,000 to those who suffered minor injuries.