Tamil Nadu pilgrim dies, 19 hurt in Rohtas bus–truck collision

Sasaram: A 72-year-old pilgrim from Tamil Nadu died and 19 others sustained injuries when a tourist bus carrying 24 passengers collided with a truck around 3am on NH-219 near Suara village under Dehri Mufassil police station area in Rohtas district on Thursday morning, police said.

According to the police, the deceased has been identified as Raju M, a resident of Abraham Street, Kanchipuram in Tamil Nadu. He died on the spot. The group was travelling from Varanasi to Gaya in a tourist bus (UP 65 NT 5223) when the accident occurred. Preliminary investigation suggests the driver, Sonu Pal, allegedly dozed off, causing the collision.


All injured passengers—residents of Kanchipuram—were rescued by police and admitted to Narayan Medical College and Hospital, Jamuhar. Several are stated to be in critical condition. The seriously injured include Kavita (47), Kayal Kannan (50), Silva (43), Divyadarshini (19), K Pari (10), Srilatha (50), and Balaji K (49).

Sanjay Pal, a Varanasi resident accompanying the group for food services and also injured in the crash, said the tourists had left Varanasi shortly before the incident.

Dehri SHO Nitesh Kumar said the families of the deceased and the injured have been informed. “The victim’s relatives have flown from Chennai and are expected to arrive soon. The body has been sent for post-mortem. An investigation is underway,” he added.