Muzaffarnagar: Eight devotees were killed in road accidents on the Kanwar Yatra routes in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the last 24 hours as the annual pilgrimage entered its last leg.
In UP’s Barabanki, a group of kanwariyas (Lord Shiva devotees) was allegedly attacked by some intoxicated men following a dispute late Sunday, police said, adding that two suspects have been taken into custody.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Traffic Police issued a detailed advisory announcing the closure of several key stretches in the national capital till 8 am on July 23 due to the pilgrim rush.
Authorities have implemented tight security measures along the Kanwar Yatra routes. The yatra concludes on Wednesday, when the pilgrims will return home after offering the holy water from the Ganges at Shiva temples on their way.
In Muzaffarnagar district of UP, two kanwariyas were killed and three others injured in two separate incidents.
In the first incident, a 28-year-old kanwariya identified as Amit was killed and three others were injured after their pickup vehicle overturned near the Simli bypass on Sunday night.
The four pilgrims were returning to Mahendragarh from Haridwar after collecting Ganga water when the accident took place, police said.
In another incident, a 35-year-old kanwariya, identified as Vicky from Delhi, was found unconscious near Panchenda Bridge on the Delhi-Dehradun National Highway on Sunday evening.
He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead, police said. It is suspected that he suffered fatal head injuries after being hit by an unidentified vehicle while walking back to Delhi from Haridwar.
In UP’s Basti, a head-on collision between two speeding motorcycles left three kanwariyas dead, police said on Monday.
Two of the victims, Rajkumar and Akash, in their late 20s, were declared dead late Sunday night, while the third, Mahendra (25), succumbed to injuries early Monday, police added.
The victims were returning to their respective villages in Basti on Sunday when the accident occurred.
In Ghaziabad, one kanwariya was killed while two others were seriously injured after their motorcycle hit a road divider near the Bhojpur toll plaza, police said on Monday.
According to Modinagar ACP Gyan Prakash Rai, the three men — Akash Bisht, Anshul Awasthi and Rahul Chaubey, all in their mid 20s — were returning to Bhangel in Noida after collecting holy water from Haridwar as part of the annual Kanwar Yatra.
Around midnight on Sunday, their bike crashed into a divider after the rider, Akash, allegedly fell asleep while driving, the officer said.
In Dehradun, a motorcycle carrying five kanwariyas overturned near Bhaniyawala flyover in Doiwala area, leaving two Lord Shiva devotees dead and three injured, according to the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC).
The injured were rushed to a hospital in Doiwala where the condition of two of them are serious, SEOC said in a statement. The victims have not been identified yet.
In Barabanki, a group of kanwariyas was allegedly attacked by some intoxicated men in Barabanki district of Uttar Pradesh following a dispute late Sunday. Police said the incident occurred at around 11 pm near Chandoora village, and the situation was quickly brought under control.
Two suspects have been taken into custody, they said.
The kanwariyas were walking from Bhagauli Tirth towards the Lodheswar Mahadev temple in Ramnagar when an altercation took place between them and a group of men near a shop.
As the pilgrims moved ahead, about six men intercepted them near a petrol station between the villages of Raipur and Chandoora and attacked them, police said.
“There was a confrontation that escalated into a minor clash,” an officer said, adding that two people have been taken into custody.
Meanwhile, in Muzaffarnagar, police have arrested three people for allegedly supplying drugs along the Kanwar Yatra route under the Civil Lines area and seized contraband from them, officials said on Monday.
They also seized Rs 19,450 in cash from the trio on Sunday evening.
In the national capital, the Traffic Police on Monday issued a detailed advisory announcing the closure of several key stretches till 8 am on July 23 due to the pilgrim rush.
In a post on X, the Delhi Traffic Police said the left carriageway of GT Road from the Keshav Chowk roundabout to Yudhishthir Setu (ISBT) will remain closed to vehicular movement from 8 am on July 21 to 8 am on July 23 to facilitate safe passage for kanwariyas.
Additionally, a separate advisory said that several major routes, including GT Road from Apsara Border to Shahdara, Seemapuri to Apsara Border and Anand Vihar to Apsara Border, will also remain closed during this period.
In UP’s Shahjahanpur district jail, inmates conducted a symbolic Kanwar Yatra on Monday inside the premises, offering Ganga water to Lord Shiva, seeking redemption for their past sins and hoping for an early release, a senior jail official said.
In a related incident, five people with criminal backgrounds were arrested on Monday for allegedly posing as Shiva devotees and attempting to steal in Kanwar camps in Muzaffarnagar, police said.
The accused, identified as Suhail, Asif, another individual also named Asif, Shamshad and Abid, were arrested from the Civil Lines police station area, Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar said.
The accused were allegedly wearing saffron clothes and using Hindu names to blend with devotees participating in the Kanwar Yatra.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MLA from Sambhal, Iqbal Mehmood, on Monday alleged that some anti-social elements have infiltrated the Kanwar Yatra and the government has turned a blind eye towards them.
Talking to reporters at his residence, the SP MLA said, “The tradition of the Kanwar Yatra and devotion to Lord Shiva is centuries old. We respect and appreciate the devotion of true Shiva followers.
“But unfortunately, anti-social elements have infiltrated the yatra and are creating nuisance while the government has turned a blind eye towards them… In Kanwar Yatra, fewer Shivbhakts and more ‘hud-dangbaaz’ (hooligans) are seen,” he said.
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