In one of the worst days for road accidents, 12 people were killed on Sunday in Delhi, Ghaziabad and West Bengal.
Four people died and several sustained injuries following a head-on collision between a bus and car here on Sunday, police said.
Police said a private bus collided with a car in which five people were travelling. The collision was so powerful that the four passengers in the car were killed and the fifth one was critically injured.
The dead were identified as Munshi Abdul Aziz, his son Ateek Alam, Hazi Haseen and their driver whose name could not be immediately ascertained. The injured has been identified as Abdul Shareef.
Several bus passengers sustained injuries while the driver fled after the accident.
“The bus passengers who sustained injuries were discharged after being administered first aid. A case has been registered against the driver who is absconding. Police are trying to nab him,” said SP R.P. Pandey.
Meanwhile, three people, including two pedestrians and a bicyclist, were killed when a speeding truck ran over them at a traffic signal in Delhi, police said on Sunday.
The incident occurred on Saturday night in New Usmanpur area of east Delhi. The dead have been identified as Raj Bahadur, 19, Hari Om, 23, and Ram Mohan, 33, all residents of east Delhi.
Police said the errant truck driver managed to flee from the spot after the incident while his vehicle was impounded.
Some eyewitnesses informed police that one of the victims’ body was stuck under the truck and dragged for several metres.
Police said Raj Bahadur and Hari Om were neighbours and worked as salesmen at a saree showroom in Chandni Chowk in north Delhi while Ram Mohan was a milkman.
“Raj Bahadur and Hari Om were returning home and were standing at the traffic signal. Ram Mohan was also at the signal. They were waiting for the green signal when a speeding truck knocked them down,” said a police officer.
Agitated over the deaths, scores of local residents gathered at the accident spot and blocked traffic for a short while. They also tried to vandalise the truck by throwing stones at it.
Elsewhere, five people were killed and six others were injured on Sunday after the vehicle they were traveling in collided head-on with a truck in West Bengal’s Bankura district, police said.
The incident happened near Bishnupur, some 140 km from Kolkata.
“The SUV carrying 11 people coming from Bishnupur has hit head-on by a truck. Five people including three of a family have been killed while six others have been admitted to hospital with serious injuries,” said Superintendent of Police S.K. Neelkantam.