BJP govt's negligence responsible for UP accident: SP chief Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday alleged that the negligence of the BJP-led government in Uttar Pradesh is responsible for the death of 18 people in the accident on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway.
He raised several questions on the arrangements available on the expressway and said the incident should be investigated.
Eighteen people died and 19 were injured when a double-decker sleeper bus hit a milk tanker on the Agra-Lucknow Expressway in Unnao district in the early hours of Wednesday, according to officials.
The bus was on its way to Delhi from Motihari in Bihar.
In a post on X in Hindi, Yadav said, "This needs to be investigated that despite the provision of special parking zones on the expressway, why was a vehicle parked in the middle of the road? How did the monitoring of the parked vehicle fail despite the presence of CCTV cameras? Were the CCTV cameras not working?"
"Where was the highway police, and was regular patrolling not being conducted?
After the accident, how long did it take for the highway ambulance service to arrive, and what was its role regarding the casualties?
"If the vehicle was parked due to a breakdown, why did towing assistance not reach it? Crores of rupees are collected daily on the expressway, if this money is not being used for the maintenance and management of the expressway, where is it going?" he asked in the post.
The Agra-Lucknow Expressway was constructed during the Samajwadi Party regime when Yadav was the chief minister.
Contradictory to Yadav's post, which alleged that the accident took place due to the parked vehicle on the expressway, District Magistrate, Unnao Gaurang Rathi said prima facie the bus was speeding and hit the milk tanker from behind, killing 18 people.
Meanwhile, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati condoled the loss of lives in the accident.
"My heartfelt condolences. Measures must be taken to prevent such accidents and save lives," she said in a post on X in Hindi.
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3 held, hunt on for 4 accomplices after they kidnap, assault and urinate on man in Bhopal
Bhopal (PTI): Police have registered a case against seven persons and arrested three of them for allegedly kidnapping, assaulting and urinating on a 22-year-old man in Madhya Pradesh capital Bhopal, officials said on Thursday.
The incident occurred during the intervening night of April 26 and 27 in an area located under the Hanumanganj police station limits, an official said.
One of the accused urinated on the face of the victim and captured a video of the act, which was later circulated on social media to humiliate him, he said.
"A complaint in this connection was lodged by Jaswant Markam (22), a resident of Kamla Nagar, based on which a case was registered against seven persons under sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and police have arrested three of them, including one Prem Thapa," Bhopal Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said.
Three police teams have been formed and the remaining suspects will be apprehended soon, he said.
During the intervening night of Sunday and Monday, Markam was at the local bus stand with a friend when around 4 am, the accused took him away on the pretext of discussing something with him. They asked him about his neighbour and friend Aniket. When he refused to provide any information, they started assaulting him, the police said.
The accused then took him to a forest in Karond area, where he was stripped and severely thrashed, they said.
When the man began to lose consciousness, one of the accused urinated on his face and made a video of the act, which was circulated on social media to humiliate him and spread terror, according to the police.
The accused called Markam's friend around 5 am to inform him about his condition. The victim was subsequently admitted to a hospital, the officials said, adding that the viral video was also being investigated.
Responding to a query, Hanumanganj police station in-charge Awdhesh Bhadoria said if the victim was found to be from the tribal community, then relevant sections will be invoked against the accused.
At present, the police are probing the incident and search is on to arrest the remaining accused, he added.
In 2023, a man had urinated on a tribal youth in Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh. A video of the incident had gone viral on social media platforms and created a controversy.
