Raipur, Oct 14 : Ten people were killed and four others injured Sunday when their SUV collided with a truck in Chhattisgarh's Rajanandgaon district, police said.
The accident took place in the early hours on Rajnandgaon-Durg road when the victims, most of them from one family, were returning after offering prayers at the Maa Bamleshwari Temple in Dongargarh town during the ongoing Navratri festival, a local police official told PTI.
As per preliminary information, when the driver of the sports utility vehicle (SUV) tried to overtake another vehicle, it collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction near Somni village, around 55 km from here, he said.
Nine people travelling in the SUV died on the spot while another person succumbed to injuries while being taken to a local hospital, the official said.
A police team rushed to the spot and admitted an injured child to a hospital in Rajnandgaon while three other people were shifted to a hospital in Bhilai town, he said, adding the victims hailed from Bhilai in Durg district.
Efforts were on to trace the truck driver who fled the spot leaving his vehicle there, the official added.
The Rajanandgaon-Durg four lane road is part of the National Highway connecting Mumbai-Kolkata via Raipur and Nagpur.
One way of the road has been closed for vehicles between Anjora village bypass in Durg and Rajnanadgaon town for nine days of the Navratri festival to ensure smooth movement of pilgrims who go on foot to the Maa Bamleshwari Temple.
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Lahore (PTI): Pakistan's Punjab Police on Friday registered a case against unidentified gunmen for opening fire on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) co-founder Amir Hamza, who suffered bullet injuries in the attack in Lahore.
On Thursday, two unidentified gunmen riding on a bike opened fire on the vehicle of the private TV channel 24NewsHD TV, owned by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, on Peco Road in Lahore near the TV channel's office.
In the attack, Hamza suffered bullet injuries.
"The FIR has been registered against unidentified gunmen, but it is sealed forthwith," a senior police officer told PTI.
He said the intelligence agencies have taken over this case from the police, and they are currently investigating the matter.
The channel's religious programme host Justice (retd.) Nazir Ahmed Ghazi and Hamza were in the vehicle when it was attacked. Hamza was shifted to a hospital for treatment.
Punjab police on Friday said that "upon receiving information about the incident, the SSP Operations immediately reached the scene and a high alert was imposed in the area. SSP Operations Tauqeer Naeem also met the affected individuals. Thankfully, all present in the vehicle remained safe during the firing."
It further said senior police officers of the Township and Chung, along with a heavy police contingent, were present at the scene.
"Police collected evidence from the site and initiated an investigation. Efforts to arrest the suspects are underway using CCTV footage and geo-fencing techniques. Search and sweep operations are being conducted at various locations, with scrutiny of suspicious individuals ongoing," police said.
It added that those involved in the incident will be traced and arrested soon.
The police sources said that Hamza has been shifted to his residence in Jauhar Town, Lahore, where police and agency personnel met him.
The leadership of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML), a political front of Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's banned Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD), including Hafiz Saeed's son Hafiz Talha Saeed, also called on him.
TV host retired Justice Ghazi, who remained unhurt in the attack, remained a legal counsel for Hafiz Saeed, they said.
The PMML has strongly condemned the attack on Hamza and demanded that those involved in the incident be arrested immediately.
Hamza is regarded as LeT's second most important leader after its chief Hafiz Saeed, who has been in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail since 2019 after getting convicted for several years in terror financing cases.
Hamza has been designated as a terrorist by the US. In the past, he served as the head of LeT's "special campaigns" department.
In 2018, Hamza formed a fundraising group for the LeT following a ban on the JuD and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation by the Pakistani government.
