The Hindu : Front Page : Violence rocks Delhi-Jaipur highway

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Aug 08, 2007
ePaper

Front Page

Front Page

Violence rocks Delhi-Jaipur highway

Ashok Kumar

Arson, stoning and vandalism for hours after death of two pilgrims in early morning accident

– PHOTO: PTI

A BURNING ISSUE: The scene on the Delhi-Jaipur highway on Tuesday.

GURGAON: Violence erupted near Manesar on the Delhi-Jaipur National Highway on Tuesday as angry ‘kanwaria’ pilgrims went on the rampage torching vehicles, stoning buses and blocking the busy road for hours after a speeding truck fatally knocked down two of them.

The accident took place at around 5-30 in the morning when the truck ploughed into a group of kanwarias hailing from Alwar in Rajasthan. Krishan Kumar Yadav (25) and Lilu Ram (20) were killed, while Krishan’s brother Virender Yadav (15), Jai Bhagwan (20) and Dinesh (20) were seriously injured. The three were rushed to Gurgaon Civil Hospital and later referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi.

Nihal Singh, who along with his 10-year-old daughter Mona formed part of the group and was lucky to escape unhurt, said: “We were both walking a few metres behind when the truck knocked them down and sped away. Krishan died on the spot, while the other four were badly injured. I signalled a mini-truck to stop and rushed the injured to Civil Hospital. Lilu Ram, who suffered serious head injuries, died on the way.”

A bus driver chased the runaway truck forcing it to stop a few hundred metres from the spot. Agitated kanwarias set the truck afire and caught the driver Kulwinder Singh, a resident of Punjab.

Soon the protesters, joined by locals and passers-by, set two Haryana Roadways buses and two police vehicles on fire and smashed the windowpanes of three roadways buses, including one belonging to Rajasthan Roadways. They also blocked the highway for over five hours demanding compensation for the victims. The blockade resulted in massive traffic jams along the route, stretching up to several kilometres.

The police resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the mob and 13 kanwarias were later arrested for damaging public property. Traffic on the highway was restored only around noon. The State administration announced a compensation of Rs.1-lakh to each of the two deceased and Rs.25,000 each to the injured.

Gurgaon Civil Hospital Medical Superintendent Dharam Singh Dhankar said: “Virender fractured his leg, Dinesh injured his right arm and Jai Prakash, who was bleeding from his right ear, has a suspected head injury. But their condition is stable and they were referred to Safdarjung Hospital.”

The victims, who were closely related, had embarked on the return journey from Hardwar on July 30 and were scheduled to reach their village Aahir Bhagola on August 11. Every year in the month of “Shravana” hundreds of kanwarias, devotees of Lord Shiva, walk barefoot for miles carrying holy Ganga water in their “kavads” (pots slung on bars carried on the shoulder) from Har-ki-Pauri in the holy town of Hardwar to Shiva temples in their native towns and villages.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Front Page