The driver fled after the scene but was arrested within an hour after villagers chased him for around 15 km, police said. Three people were killed and four others seriously injured after a speeding car, allegedly driven by a drunk man, rammed into a gathering near a Durga pandal in Balrampur late Saturday night.
Police launched a search, sealed the border and arrested him within an hour, circle officer Abhishek Singh said. The driver, identified as Adarsh Yadav, a resident of Sitapur, fled the scene in the car after the accident. Investigators are questioning him to establish the vehicle’s ownership. others were standing outside the temple, preparing to return home as the screen was being closed for the night While some people had already left.
The accident occurred around 11 pm in Charangahi Belha village, under Dehat police station limits, about 10 km from the district headquarters. The car, bearing Lucknow registration number UP32 KA 2425, rammed into a tent beside a temple, ran over seven people and crashed into a wall.
The impact flung some victims five to six feet away, witnesses said. Eyewitnesses told police that the temple’s evening aarti had concluded and prasad was being distributed when the car approached from the Gaura Road side.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath announced ₹ 2 lakh compensation for each deceased’s family and ₹ 50,000 for each injured person.
