Four died in a watery grave after the car they were in veered off into a roadside pond near Karimuddin Nagar village in Hapur district on Wednesday night.
The incident came to light on Thursday morning after the locals alerted the police.
Kapoorpur police identified the deceased as Rahul, Haroon and Shokeen of Kapoorpur and Arun from Dhaulana.
All of them were working at Vedanta farm in Ghaziabad district. The mishap occurred when they were returning home from the farm.
The locals staged a protest condemning the district administration for its failure to install railings at the pond. After talks, the locals allowed the bodies to be shifted for autopsy.
District Magistrate Medha Rupam visited the spot to take stock of the situation. Police said locals were the first to spot the white Honda City submerged in the pond. Police rushed to the spot to launch rescue efforts. The ill-fated car was fished out of the pond and the lifeless bodies were recovered. A local resident said, "The deceased belonged to Karimuddin Nagar village. They were working at Vedanta farm in Ghaziabad. They were returning home. The car driver seems to have lost control over the wheel leading to the accident." According to him, the accident happened because of the poor infrastructure.
"The pond does not have a rail guard or a raised concrete wall to help the driver differentiate while driving. We want Rs 10 lakh compensation for the kin of the deceased," he said.
Pilkhuwa Circle Officer Varun Mishra said, "We received information about the accident at around 7 am. Someone dialed 112 informing us that white Honda City car had fallen into the pond. The occupants in the car were working at a farmhouse in Ghaziabad."