SI, prisoner among 7 killed, 25 injured as bus overturns on Lucknow-Agra e-way

Kanpur: Seven passengers were killed and 25 injured when a sleeper AC bus travelling from Delhi to Siwan in Bihar overturned on the Lucknow-Agra Expressway in Unnao early Tuesday after the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle. The deceased included a sub-inspector and a prisoner.Preliminary investigation suggested that the driver may have dozed off at the wheel. Eyewitnesses said the speeding bus suddenly swerved, rammed into the divider and ended up hanging precariously on the roadside railing. The impact flung several passengers out through the windows onto the ground below the elevated expressway, while one passenger ended with a severed leg.The accident occurred near Milestone 262 on the expressway in the Auras police station area of Unnao. Among the deceased were sub-inspector Ramchandra Ram (59), posted at Bihar’s Siwan Police Lines, and prisoner Chhatarpal Singh Tomar (59), a resident of Gurugram. According to information, the Siwan Police team had taken the prisoner to Gurugram court for a hearing in a murder case on May 24.Police reached the spot upon receiving information and launched relief and rescue operations. As many as 32 injured, including three policemen, were brought to a nearby Community Health Centre (CHC), where doctors declared six of them dead. The remaining were referred to the trauma centre in Lucknow Trauma, where one more injured person died.According to police, most passengers on the bus were residents of Basti, Siddharthnagar and Gorakhpur.Taking cognisance of the accident, chief minister Yogi Adityanath wished the injured a speedy recovery, and directed officials to provide prompt assistance to the victims. The CM shared a post on social media, “The loss of lives in the unfortunate road accident on the Lucknow–Agra Expressway in Unnao district is tragic and heartbreaking. My condolences are with the bereaved families.”Bihar CM Samrat Choudhary also expressed grief over the accident. In a post shared on the social media platform X, Choudhary described the incident as deeply distressing and heart-wrenching. “I pray for peace for the departed souls and wish a speedy recovery for those injured in the crash,” he said.Traffic on the expressway was disrupted for about 30 minutes following the accident. Besides the sub-inspector and prisoner, the deceased included Suresh Kumar Jaiswal and Videshi Gupta, both residents of Gorakhpur, and Vijay Kumar from Basti. The identities of two others were yet to be established.Injured constable Ramji said he was posted at Siwan Police Lines in Bihar. He stated they had left Delhi around 8:30 pm on Monday. “All passengers were fast asleep when suddenly a sound like an explosion was heard. When I woke up, the bus had overturned and there was screaming all around. I later learned that the sub-inspector and prisoner travelling with him had died.”Siwan Jail superintendent Devashish Sinha stated that the prisoner had been lodged in Siwan jail for the past three years in connection with the murder of a Zila Parishad clerk. Cases under Section 307 and the Arms Act were also registered against him in Gurugram. Police had taken him for testimony in that case.Safipur CO Sonam Singh said: “Five people died on the spot, while two during treatment. One person was discharged from the community centre and 25 others were referred to a higher centre in Lucknow.”