Kanpur: Police arrested Raju Nishad, the tractor driver accused of negligent driving in the road accident that killed 26 people on October 1 near Gambhirpur village of Saad police station area of Kanpur district in Uttar Pradesh. The accident took place when a tractor-trolley overturned and fell into a pond near Bhadeuna village located within the Saar police station limits in Kanpur on Saturday.
The tractor-trolley carrying 50 people was on its way to Ghatampur after the passengers attended a tonsuring ceremony at the Chandrika Devi temple in Fatehpur, the official said. Police arrested the tractor driver Raju Nishad late on Wednesday evening from the banks of the canal located near the corridor of Saad.
Also read: Death toll rises to 26 killed as tractor-trolley falls into pond in UP's Kanpur
Preeti, who was injured in the accident, filed a case against Raju Nishad, Ramshankar, Prahlad, residents of Kortha village, and Bane, a resident of Gauri Kakra. Police booked the accused driver under section 304 related to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The accused has admitted during the police interrogation to drunken driving.
Nishad said that when the tractor trolley overturned, he was very scared and ran away from the spot. Saadh SHO said that further investigation is going on in the matter. An eyewitness told reporters that he, along with others, rushed to the site after hearing the cries of men, women and children for help. The locals immediately jumped into the water and somehow managed to pull out the victims, some of whom were already dead, he said.
The injured were taken to the community health centre (CHC) at Bheetergaon where some of them were declared brought dead, he added. GSVM Medical College principal Sanjay Kala told reporters that several of the injured have been referred to the Lala Lajpat Rai (LLR) Hospital. According to officials, the injured were first rushed to the Bheetergaon CHC in ambulances arranged by police and more than a dozen were declared dead at the facility. The SHO of Saadh police station has been suspended for alleged dereliction of duty in the mishap.
