SUV catches fire after accident in UP's Bareilly, eight including child charred to death
Bareilly (UP), Dec 10: Eight people, including a child, were charred to death in their SUV after it was hit by an oncoming truck and caught fire in this Uttar Pradesh district, police said on Sunday.
The driver of the SUV lost control of the vehicle after it suffered a tyre puncture. It jumped the barrier onto the other side of the road and was hit by the truck coming from the opposite direction, they said.
The accident occurred late on Saturday near the Dubhaura village in Bhojipura area on the Bareilly-Nainital Road, they added.
By the time the police reached the spot, the SUV was engulfed by the flames, the police said.
Superintendent of Police Sushil Chandrabhan confirmed the deaths of the eight people, including the child.
According to police, the SUV belonged to grocery shop owner Sumit Gupta, who had given it to Furkan. A customer, Narayan Nagla village resident Asif had asked Gupta for his SUV on Saturday morning, saying that his nephew Furkan wants to take it to attend a wedding in Bareilly.
On Saturday night, Furkan and some others had gone to Bareilly's Faham Lawn to attend the wedding, they said.
The SUV went out of control just a kilometre ahead of Bhojipura police station. According to eyewitnesses, the speed was so high that part of the divider of the four lanes broke and the vehicle reached the other side and hit a truck coming from the Nainital side, they said.
When the car caught fire, those sitting inside were stuck as the doors of the car did not open, probably due to malfunctioning of the central locking system.
Police suspect that Furkan is among those killed, however, the victims, all residents of Baheri area, are yet to be identified.
Some passers-by moved forward to break the glass but due to the high flames, no one could reach near the car. Meanwhile, the truck had also caught fire. Some people brought fire extinguishers from the neighbouring petrol pump and tried to extinguish the fire.
Bareilly's CFO (Chief Fire Officer) Chandra Mohan Sharma said it is difficult to tell the reason for the accident right now.
It may have been the tyre burst, or the driver may have lost control due to sleep or being drunk, he said.
The reason will become clear after the investigation by the forensic team, he said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has condoled the deaths.
#WATCH | Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh: Bareilly SSP Ghule Sushil Chandrabhan says, "Near Bhojipura, an accident occurred on the highway... A car collided with a truck. The car got dragged and then caught fire... The car was centrally locked, hence the people inside the car lost their… pic.twitter.com/HtfUUB8bSK
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) December 10, 2023
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'PM is scared of questions': Cong slams govt after IYC chief's arrest
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Indian Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chib was arrested in connection with the shirtless protest at the AI Impact Summit, saying the PM is "scared" of dissent and questions being asked of him.
Chib was arrested by Delhi Police in connection with the shirtless protest staged by a group of youth wing members at the AI Impact Summit here last week, officials said on Tuesday.
Police have also stepped up security across key locations in the capital in anticipation of possible protests following Chib's arrest, which took the total number of people held in the case to eight.
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Asked about Chib's arrest, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera told PTI Videos, "It is the duty of the opposition to protest in a democracy but a dictator will never understand this."
"If you hear the speech of that dictator in Meerut recently you will get to know that the word democracy does not exist in his dictionary," Khera said, in a swipe at the prime minister.
Chib as well as other colleagues are being arrested from various parts of the country, Khera, who is in Bhopal for the party's Kisan Maha Chaupal against the India-US interim trade deal, said,
"This shows that Narendra Modi is scared of dissent and questions being asked of him. Narendra Modi is emerging as the most cowardly Prime Minister in the world. He is being blackmailed, he is a coward, he is scared," Khera alleged.
"It has been the Congress' history that no matter how much oppression we face, we will continue to raise issues of the people and will keep fighting with 'Ahimsa'," he said.
Police had earlier arrested seven Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers, including three from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh, for the protest at the Bharat Mandapam last Friday. They have been identified as Jitendra Yadav, Raj Gujjar and Ajay Kumar.
In addition, IYC's Uttar Pradesh general secretary Ritik alias Monty Shukla has been detained from Lalitpur in the state.
Senior officers said additional force has been deployed at the sensitive points, particularly in New Delhi, a hotspot for political demonstrations.
Security has been tightened around the Tilak Marg police station, where Chib is presently held, while barricades have been put up at the strategic points, with anti-riot teams on standby.
Quick Reaction Teams (QRTs) and additional companies of paramilitary forces have also been placed on alert to respond to any law and order situation, officials said.
Senior officers have directed the field staff to ensure that traffic movement remains smooth.
On Friday, a group of IYC workers staged a dramatic protest inside Hall No. 5 of the summit venue by removing their shirts to reveal T-shirts printed with slogans against the government and the India-US interim trade deal, before being whisked away by security personnel.
Police said the accused had registered online and obtained QR codes to gain entry into the venue.
The incident triggered a political slugfest, with the BJP calling it a "shameful act to tarnish India's image on the global stage", and the IYC defending it as a "peaceful" demonstration aimed at safeguarding national interests.
VIDEO | Delhi: On arrest of Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib in connection with 'shirtless' protest staged by a group of IYC members at the AI Impact Summit last week, Congress leader Pawan Khera (@Pawankhera) says, "Protesting is the duty and responsibility of the… pic.twitter.com/2MOujnPDLX
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) February 24, 2026
