Speeding car mows down villagers near Bihar temple, 5 killed

At least five people were killed and one injured after a speeding car ran over a group of villagers gathered near a temple in Bihar's Supaul district, officials said on Wednesday, August 26.

The incident occurred on Tuesday evening near the Bajrangbali temple on the Supaul-Pipra main road, where villagers had assembled for rituals connected to the 'Jhoolan' festival. "Around 8 pm on Tuesday, a speeding vehicle ran over six people who were standing along the road near the temple. Five of them died, while one is undergoing treatment at a medical facility," Pipra SHO Kishore Kumar said.

The deceased were identified as Surendra Yadav, Tilayi Das, Raju Das, Bhubneswari Yadav and Krishna Mohan, all residents of Kataiya Goth village. Post-mortem examinations of the bodies have since been conducted, the SHO said.

According to police, the driver of the vehicle fled the scene immediately after the incident, and a search is underway to trace him. Meanwhile, angry locals briefly blocked the Supaul-Pipra main road in protest, before being pacified by senior officials, including Supaul Sadar SDO Manohar Kumar Sahu and SDPO Rajiv Ranjan, police said.

(With inputs from PTI)