Ranchi/Deoghar, Jul 29 (PTI) At least six Kanwariyas were killed and 29 others injured on Tuesday in two separate road accidents in Jharkhand’s Deoghar, officials said.
While six Kanwariyas were killed and 24 injured after a collision took place between a bus with devotees on board and a truck, loaded with cooking gas cylinders, five others were injured in another accident involving a car and a truck, they said.
Kanwariyas are devotees of Lord Shiva.
The accident occurred around 5.30 am near the Jamuniya forest under the Mohanpur Police Station limits when the bus collided with the commercial vehicle, the officials said.
The second incident occurred near Rohini Toll Plaza in which five Kanwariyas from Deoria in Uttar Pradesh were injured after their car was hit by a truck.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences to the families of the devotees who lost their lives in the accident.
“Six devotees were killed and 24 others injured in the accident at Jamuniya Chowk in Deoghar. Eight of the 24 injured have been shifted to AIIMS, Deoghar, while the remaining are undergoing treatment at Sadar Hospital,” Deoghar Deputy Commissioner Naman Priyesh Lakra said.
Earlier, Inspector General (Dumka Zone) Shailendra Kumar Sinha told PTI that the accident occurred after the bus with Kanwariyas on board collided head-on with the truck transporting gas cylinders.
“The road accident that occurred in Deoghar, Jharkhand, is extremely tragic. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the devotees who lost their lives in this incident. May God grant them the strength to bear this pain. Along with this, I pray for the speedy recovery of all the injured,” the prime minister said on X.
Following the collision, the driver fell from the bus and the vehicle, without anyone behind the steering wheel, continued moving for some time and stopped after hitting a stack of bricks, the IG said.
The bus was severely damaged, he added.
However, MP Nishikant Dubey, in a post on X, claimed that 18 Kanwariyas lost their lives in the accident.
“Eighteen devotees have died in a bus-truck accident during the Kanwar Yatra in the month of Shravan in Deoghar in my Lok Sabha constituency. May Baba Baidyanath Ji give strength to their families to bear the loss,” he said.
The police have maintained that six people lost their lives, while the condition of two others is serious.
At least 24 Kanwariyas were injured in the accident and taken to various hospitals and nearby primary health centres, including the Saraiyahat PHC in Dumka, another officer said.
Casualties may increase as the condition of several injured is serious, he said.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren condoled the death of the Kanwariyas and said a rescue operation was being conducted by the district administration there.
“Very sad news has been received about the deaths of devotees travelling in a bus in an accident near Jamuniya chowk in Mohanpur block of Deoghar.
“The district administration is providing medical assistance to the injured with relief and rescue operations. May Baba Baidyanath grant peace to the souls of the devotees who died in the accident and give strength to the bereaved families to bear this moment of grief,” Soren posted on X.
Governor Santosh Gangwar also expressed grief over the accident.
“The news of the death of many devotees in the bus accident while Kanwariyas were going to Basukinath from Deoghar is extremely sad and painful. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families and pray to Baba Bholenath for speedy recovery of the injured devotees,” Gangwar posted on X.
Deoghar Sub-Divisional Officer Ravi Kumar said the Kanwariyas were on their way to the Basukinath temple.
As per the Civil Surgeon, Deoghar, those who died included bus driver Subhash Turi, besides Suman Kumari from Gaya, Piyush, Vaishali, Durgawati Devi and Janki Devi from Bettiah.
Meanwhile, the Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari announced that Rs 1 lakh each will be provided to the kin of those killed in the accident, and Rs 20,000 to those injured.
Lakra told PTI that Rs 20,000 each has already been disbursed to the next of kin of the deceased and those injured, from the temple welfare fund.
The injured in the Rohini Toll Plaza accident will soon receive Rs 20,000 each, too, he said.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also expressed shock over the incident.
The Bihar government has announced Rs 2 lakh each to the kin of the deceased from the state.
Meanwhile, former MP Furkan Ansari criticised Nishikant Dubey for his claim of 18 deaths, asserting that he has a “habit of spreading lies”. PTI NAM CORR MNB BDC RBT
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.