Pilgrims mowed down in Delhi

The vehicle, nobody knows what it was, had disappeared.

The site of the accident, the Subhash Marg pavement, is a popular spot among tourists who park their vehicles there for overnight stay.

Says Kishori Lal, a 50-year-old pilgrim: 8220;There were 60 of us in the bus and as most of us were rather weary after the journey everybody picked his or her spot and had gone to sleep. The next thing I remember was being woken up by a severe pain in my leg, as though a heavy vehicle had gone over my foot. It was4.30 and those who lay beside me on the pavement were writing. Hearing our screams, other tourists sleeping nearby along with a few rickshaw pullers came to our rescue.8221;

Kishori Lal along with the other injured were rushed to the LNJP and Hindu Rao hospitals where they were discharged after treatment.

Though the cause of the accident is still not clear, reports suggest that it probably happened when a vehicle lost control and climbed on to the pavement, chipping away a chunk of the concrete and running over those sleeping on it. No one, however, saw the vehicle and the police till late this evening were still trying to pick up clues.

The pilgrims who hail from Sidhant Nagar in Uttar Pradesh were on their third visit to the Capital. Said Ram Dhani, 60, who like most other injured pilgrims had huge plaster on her. 8220;We have been coming to the Capital for the past three years to participate in the holy pilgrimage to Hardwar carrying Ganga water. Now we have decided not to continue thejourney.8221;