In the early hours of Sunday, an Innova car travelling for a thanksgiving pilgrimage to Mehndipur Balaji Temple in Dausa, Rajastan turned into a tragedy. The driver lost control of the car and fell into a canal in Mathura, killing himself and nine members of a Bareilly family.
Police officials have reported that the driver was moving at a very high speed and lost control of the vehicle that plunged into the canal. The passengers were trapped inside the car and it sunk killing all the ten people inside.
The police have identified the family, Mahesh Sharma (45,) Poonam (42) his wife, and their four children, Ritik (16,) Hardik (15,) Mansi (18) and Khusboo (20). Mahesh’s sister, Poonam (44) along with her son Rohan (19) and daughter Surabhi (17.) The family were residents of Subhash Nagar in Bareilly. Harish Chand, the driver was from Bichuria in Dinawar of Bareilly district.
The family planned to go to Mehndipur Balaji temple to offer prayers. Their youngest daughter Mansi managed to secure 75% in her 12th exam in the UP board. The family planned on travelling on Friday but the driver had a death in his family. So, Mahesh’s family waited and left on Saturday night at 11 P.M. The accident happened five hours after they departed.
Vinod Kumar Mishra, Mathura senior superintendent of police reported that the bodies were removed from the car and handed over to the relatives. He also informed that the car has also been removed from the canal.
The accident caused a number of people to protest against the administration. The local residents have claimed that they had complained regarding the narrow bridge over the canal. They had made multiple requests to repair the bridge as a number of accidents such as these have occurred before.
