AHMEDABAD: Seven persons were killed and four others suffered injuries after being run over by a speeding dumper on a roadside in Gujarat's Surendranagar district in the early hours of Monday.
The incident occurred near Bhaskarpara village on the Lakhtar–Viramgam stretch in Surendranagar when a group of pilgrims were walking from Rajkot to Bahucharaji as part of a procession.
Six pilgrims and the driver of a truck parked on the roadside were killed in the incident. The truck had stopped mid-road for a tyre change.
"The dumper, while trying to pass, rammed into the pedestrians and the youth changing the tyre. Seven people died on the spot. The injured have been shifted to Rajkot, and the accused driver has been arrested," SP Vedika Bihani said.
The bodies were rushed to Lakhtar Government Hospital for postmortem before being sent back to Rajkot for last rites.
The police have detained the accused driver, identified as Aditya Rameshbhai Gokania of Jhamar village.
Local MLA PK Parmar, who reached the spot along with officials, said, "The group had visited Datta village and was heading towards Viramgam to hoist a religious flag and visit a Mahadev temple. This was a journey of faith, now it has become a story of loss."
Among the dead were members of the Mundhwa family -- Masabhai Karshanbhai Mundhwa, Jaluben Masabhai Mundhwa, Raniben Mangabhai Lambaria, and Vajiben Vibhabhai Mundhwa.
Vanrajbhai Mundhwa, a grieving family member, struggled to process the scale of loss. “My grandfather, grandmother, and sister-in-laws, four members from our own family are gone. We left yesterday afternoon… and by night, everything was finished. Our family is destroyed.”
PM Narendra Modi expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy. “The accident in Surendranagar is extremely tragic. My deepest condolences to those who have lost their loved ones. I pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," he said.