LUCKNOW: Two youths were killed and a woman injured after being hit by a vehicle that was allegedly in the cavalcade of BJP candidate from Kaiserganj Karan Bhushan Singh, the BJP candidate from Kaiserganj Lok Sabha constituency.
He is also the son of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, who is the Kaiserganj MP and the former Wrestling Federation of India chief, who is accused of sexually assaulting women wrestlers.
However, it is yet to be ascertained whether Karan Bhushan Singh or Brij Bhushan Singh was present in the convoy at the time of accident.
The accused driver has been taken into custody and the injured were admitted to hospital, police said, adding that police personnel have been deployed in the area to ensure law and order.
As per Karnalganj SHO Nirbhay Narayan Singh, Rehan Khan (17) and his cousin Shehzad Khan (20) who was riding on a motorcycle were hit by the vehicle near a school. Both died on the spot.
The injured woman, Sita Devi (60), has been admitted to hospital and police personnel have been deployed in the area to ensure law and order.
The SHO said that the SUV UP32HW1800 that hit the duo lost control. It is registered in the name of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh's educational institute.
The police have seized the SUV and arrested its driver, Lavkush Srivastava.
As per the Additional superintendent of police, Gonda, Radhey Shyam Rai, driver’s statement was being recorded to understand the sequence of events.
The Indian Express report, citing another police officer, claimed that a preliminary inquiry revealed that on Wednesday morning, Karan Singh’s convoy, consisting of four vehicles, was passing through Karnalganj. While three vehicles crossed the railway crossing, the fourth vehicle, which was later involved in the accident, stayed back as a train passed.
After the passage of train, the driver of the fourth vehicle allegedly sped up to catch up with the other vehicles of the cavalcade.
The SUV collided with a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction near a petrol pump, it added.
However, as per the sources, the bike riders, in a bid to save an elderly woman crossing the road, came under the SUV. The woman is said to have fainted on witnessing the major accident and was admitted in a hospital.
According to police, the locals have alleged that the SUV involved in the accident was part of the cavalcade of Karan Singh, the BJP candidate from the Kaiserganj Lok Sabha seat.
"They have also alleged that the occupants of the SUV abandoned the damaged car and fled in another vehicle," the SHO said.
Enraged over the incident, the locals along with the family members of the victims blocked the road and demanded the arrest of those involved in the accident.
Senior police officials pacified the protestors and assured them of swift action in the matter.
"The bodies have been sent for post-mortem. We are in the process of lodging an FIR against the driver of the SUV," the SHO said.
(With inputs from PTI)