In a tragic incident early Thursday morning, a dozen people going to take a holy dip on the occasion of Paush Purnima, died after their auto was hit by a speeding tanker near Sugusugi village under Alhaganj police station on Jalalabad-Farrukhabad National Highway in Shahjahanpur.

The dead included three women, a child and eight men of Dham Gada village under Madnapur police station of Shahjahanpur. They were going to Panchal ghat in Farrukhabad to take a holy dip in the Ganga.

As soon as the information about the incident was received, the station house officer of Alhaganj police station and senior officers reached the spot. District Magistrate Umesh Pratap Singh, Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar Meena and Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from Jalalabad, Hari Prakash Verma, reached the spot.

The police sent all the bodies for post-mortem.

SP Ashok Kumar Meena said that the incident was very tragic. “A dozen people traveling in the auto have died. The incident is being investigated,” he said.

DM Umesh Pratap Singh said that the higher officials in Lucknow had taken all information about the accident and all possible help would be provided to the families of the deceased.

Those who died in the accident included be Lalaram and his brother Puttu Ram of Dham Gada village in Madnapur area, Siyaram and his brother Suresh, Anantram and his brother Basant along with Lankush, Maniram, Pothiram, Rama Devi and two others.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the accident and expressed his condolences to the bereaved families. He asked the officials to meet the families of the deceased and express their condolences.