Sitapur: “The funeral procession is taking place through the same streets of the village through which he had set out for darshan with all our wishes”. These are the emotional feelings of bereaving locals at village Barajetha village of Sidhauli area of Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district as they bid farewell to the 12 villagers killed in a horrific road accident while they were on way to have darshan of Maa Purnagiri on Saturday night.
The accident took place when a truck laden with ballast overturned on a private bus on board devotees going from Sitapur to Purnagiri under Khutar police station in Shahjahanpur district.
As the bodies reached the village on Sunday, a pall of gloom descended on the locals, who bid a tearful adieu to the deceased. The village where people used to share their sorrows, now houses their funeral pyres. Some elderly people beat their heads and some became unconscious due to crying.
Ramdas, one of the victims had set out for darshan telling his mother Jagrani that he would pray to Mother Purnagiri for his long life, but little did he know that he was going to lose his life. The crying Jagrani is not in her senses and repeatedly says that her son Ramdas is injured. Her 6-year-old grandson Sudhanshu and his mother Meena both died in the tragic accident leaving the family in lifelong pain. A total of seven pyres were set simultaneously outside the village where the victims were cremated while Ramdas's little son Sudhanshu was buried as part of the Hindu ritual. The bodies of Ram Gopal and his daughter Rohini were burnt on the same pyre.
Apart from tehsil officials, police force, political personalities, social workers and common people also reached the village to console the villagers. Mohanlalganj MP Kaushal Kishore, MLA Manish Rawat, former minister and SP candidate RK Chaudhary, former MLA Dr. Hargovind Bhargava and BJP District President Rajesh Shukla were among them.
