Eleven people lost their lives and about a dozen others were injured in two road mishaps in Agra and Mathura, while four more were charred to death in Jhansi.
Six people died when an auto-rickshaw collided with a speeding car in Agra, police said on Tuesday. The incident occurred in the Kheragarh police station area around 10:30 pm on Monday, they said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Sonam Kumar said two people died on the spot while four succumbed to injuries at a hospital. The deceased were identified as Jayprakash, Sumit, Brajesh Devi, Brajmohan Sharma, Manoj Sharma, and auto-rickshaw driver Bhola.
Kheragarh police station incharge Rajeev Kumar said the person driving the car is at large but his two friends (Pinku and Baniya) have been arrested.
Kumar said the accused driver, identified as Bunty, was possibly under the influence of liquor, and the mishap occurred when he was returning home after dropping his friends.
In Mathura, at least five pilgrims were killed and 34 other others were injured in a collision between a car and a tractor-trolley on Monday. According to police, the accident occurred on the Agra-Delhi national highway under the Farah police station around 11:30 am. The pilgrims were returning from Govardhan parikrama.
According to Superintendent of Police (City) Martand Prakash Singh, the accident occurred when the pilgrims were returning from Govardhan parikrama in the two vehicles. He further said that the pilgrims who were travelling in the car were from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur. Those travelling in the tractor-trolley were from Madhya Pradesh’s Bhind. After ramming into the car from behind, the tractor-trolley overturned on the Agra-Delhi national highway.
As per the police, three car occupants and one passenger on the tractor-trolley died on the spot. Another passenger succumbed to injuries later.
The car occupants who died were identified as Govardhan (66), his son Roopesh (45), and his sister Mukhtari (65). The tractor-trolley passengers who died were identified as Gyandeen (63) and Mukesh (34).
Meanwhile in Jhansi, four people, including a woman, were killed in a major fire which broke in an electronics showroom late Monday night.
According to reports, several people were trapped after the fire broke out in the showroom and also engulfed a sports shop in the Sipri Bazar area. On being alerted, several fire tenders rushed to the spot and started the rescue operation.
Three charred bodies were recovered from the showroom. In the meantime, a woman, who was rescued and shifted to a nearby hospital, succumbed to burns.
Police said the cause of death was yet to be ascertained. Jhansi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajesh S confirmed four deaths in the incident.
“Police officers are present at the site and all the shops are being re-checked,” the SSP said.