SUV rams into crowd in Deoria; 7 dead, 30 injured

Gorakhpur: An SUV carrying UP government logo ran into people watching dance by the roadside in Deoria on Monday night, leaving seven people dead and 30 injured. Agitated villagers blocked Gauri Bazar road around 11.30 am on Tuesday and demanded government job and Rs 20 lakh each for the kin of those who died and Rs 5 lakh for injured. ADM (admin) V K Gupta pacified the people and assured them of sending their memorandum to higher authorities.A case has been registered against the driver under sections 279, 337, 338, 304 A and 427 of IPC.
Deoria SP Prabhakar Chaudhary said, “the vehicle owner has been identified as one Sadhna Gupta of Deoria. Since it was a private vehicle, putting a UP government logo on it is a violation of the Motor Vehicle Act, even if the owner of anyone in his or her family is a government officer.”
He said searches were under way to locate the occupants of the car at the time of the incident. He said the driver of the car had been identified as one Nandu of Khorabar area of the district. One of the car occupants has been apprehended, he added..
Around 11 pm on Monday, a large number of people, including women and children, were enjoying dance performances at Pannaha village in Gauri Bazaar in Deoria by the roadside when an Ertiga (UP 53 BY 8017), carrying UP government logo rammed into the crowd. The driver of the car escaped, reports said.
Village chief (gram pradhan) Saroj Devi said that one Ramdas of Pannaha village invited a called a dance group to perform in the village. He invited the villagers to enjoy the programme which was organized by the roadside.
“When we were watching the dance, the SUV suddenly hit the pandal in which six people died on the spot and one died later. A cow and a calf also died. The vehicle crashed into a tree and stopped. The driver escaped from the spot. There were wine bottles inside the car. The scene was scary. The villagers are still in a state of shock,” she said.
Deoria additional SP N K Singh said the police have located the residence of the car occupants but none could be arrested as they had fled. “One occupant of the car was arrested from the scene of crime itself who identified the remaining accused,” he said.