20230719 2 elderly couples dead as car catches fire in road mishap
India Jul 19 2023 “Automobile & Railway”
Dead : dead 1 to 4 Burnout : 0 or unknown Injured : injured 0 or unknown
2 elderly couples dead as car catches fire in road mishap
Updated: 2023-07-19
MEERUT: Four persons, including two elderly couples, were allegedly charred to death after a car they were travelling in, collided with a truck and caught fire on the Dehradun-Ambala highway in UP’s Saharanpur district on Tuesday.
According to police, the victims were identified as Umesh Goyal (70), his wife Sunita Goyal (65), her brother Amrish Jindal (55), and his wife Geeta Jindal (50), all residents of Vasant Vihar in Jwala Nagar of Haridwar. The incident took place around 10:30 am when they were heading to Jagadhri in Haryana to attend a funeral.
Abhimanyu Manglik, SP (City), Saharanpur, said, “The information was conveyed around 11:30 am and a team from Rampur police station rushed to the spot. A Maruti Alto car was found completely burnt after being hit by a truck near Chunheti bypass on Dehradun-Ambala highway. The occupants of the car failed to escape and were charred alive.” The officer further informed that police had to use gas cutters to pull out their bodies from the mangled car. “The bodies were taken out and sent for post-mortem. Their family members were also informed. The truck was traced, and the driver has been arrested. Further investigation is on and appropriate action is being taken,” the SP added.
The incident highlighted sheer negligence by authorities as the other side of the bridge was closed for the past several months forcing commuters to travel on the wrong side. A senior police officer at Rampur police station told TOI that the incident could have been averted if both sides of the road were open.
“The other side of the bridge has been closed for the past few months as it is badly damaged. Due to a lack of repair work, traffic coming from both sides falls on a single lane of the bridge. A temporary divider is in place to streamline the traffic but similar road accidents are reported very often from this stretch,” said Rampur SHO, Narendra Kumar Sharma.
“Based on a complaint, an FIR under sections 304A (causing death due to negligence), 279 (rash driving), and 427 of IPC has been registered against the accused truck driver identified as Monu alias Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Kangra in Himachal Pradesh. He is being produced before the court and sent to jail,” the SHO added.
Web Source: The Times of India