About 8 kanwariyas killed in road accidents in UP, U’khand

Muzaffarnagar/Dehradun: Eight devotees were killed in road accidents on the Kanwar Yatra routes in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the last 24 hours as the annual pilgrimage entered its last leg.

In UP’s Barabanki, a group of kanwariyas (Lord Shiva devotees) was allegedly attacked by some intoxicated men following a dispute late Sunday, police said, adding that two suspects have been taken into custody.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Traffic Police issued a detailed advisory announcing the closure of several key stretches in the national capital till 8 am on July 23 due to the pilgrim rush.

Authorities have implemented tight security measures along the Kanwar Yatra routes. The yatra concludes on Wednesday, when the pilgrims will return home after offering the holy water from the Ganges at Shiva temples on their way.

In Muzaffarnagar district of UP, two kanwariyas were killed and three others injured in two separate incidents.

In the first incident, a 28-year-old kanwariya identified as Amit was killed and three others were injured after their pickup vehicle overturned near the Simli bypass on Sunday night. The four pilgrims were returning to Mahendragarh from Haridwar after collecting Ganga water when the accident took place, police said.

In another incident, a 35-year-old kanwariya, identified as Vicky from Delhi, was found unconscious near Panchenda Bridge on the Delhi-Dehradun National Highway on Sunday evening.

He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, police said. It is suspected that he suffered fatal head injuries after being hit by an unidentified vehicle while walking back to Delhi from Haridwar.

In UP’s Basti, a head-on collision between two speeding motorcycles left three kanwariyas dead, police said on Monday.

Two of the victims, Rajkumar and Akash, in their late 20s, were declared dead late Sunday night, while the third, Mahendra (25), succumbed to injuries early Monday, police added.

The victims were returning to their respective villages in Basti on Sunday when the accident occurred.

In Ghaziabad, one kanwariya was killed while two others were seriously injured after their motorcycle hit a road divider near the Bhojpur toll plaza, police said on Monday.

According to Modinagar ACP Gyan Prakash Rai, the three men -- Akash Bisht, Anshul Awasthi and Rahul Chaubey were returning to Bhangel in Noida after collecting holy water from Haridwar as part of the annual Kanwar Yatra.

Around midnight on Sunday, their bike crashed into a divider after the rider, Akash, allegedly fell asleep while driving, the officer said.

In Dehradun, a motorcycle carrying five kanwariyas overturned near Bhaniyawala flyover in Doiwala area, leaving two Lord Shiva devotees dead and three injured, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).

The injured were rushed to a hospital in Doiwala where the condition of two of them are serious, SEOC said in a statement. The victims have not been identified yet.

In Barabanki, a group of kanwariyas was allegedly attacked by some intoxicated men in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh following a dispute late Sunday. Police said the incident occurred at around 11 pm near Chandoora village, and the situation was quickly brought under control.

Two suspects have been taken into custody, they said.

The kanwariyas were walking from Bhagauli Tirth towards the Lodheswar Mahadev temple in Ramnagar when an altercation took place between them and a group of men near a shop.