Suv collides with tractor-trolley on Lucknow’s Kisan Path, driver killed; seven pilgrims injured

LUCKNOW: One person was killed and seven others injured after an SUV collided with a brick-laden tractor-trolley on Lucknow’s Kisan Path in the early hours of Tuesday while the occupants were travelling from Mathura to Ayodhya for pilgrimage.The accident occurred around 4:15 am near the Dalauna railway overbridge in the Mohanlalganj area. According to police, the SUV rammed into the tractor-trolley with such force that the vehicle was completely mangled and the driver got trapped inside the wreckage.Police teams rushed to the spot after receiving information and launched rescue operations along with fire brigade personnel. The injured occupants were pulled out of the damaged vehicle and shifted to the Trauma Centre of Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences for treatment.Fire department personnel used specialised equipment and struggled for a considerable time to extricate the driver from the crushed vehicle. He was taken to hospital in critical condition, where doctors declared him dead. Police identified the deceased as Sandeep.The injured were identified as Subhashish Mohanty (16), Smitanjali Sahu (35), Tilavera, Tida Subodha, Basant Das, Jayantiratha and Sai Ramrath. All are residents of Jagannath Puri in Odisha, police said.According to investigators, all eight occupants of the SUV were travelling from Mathura to Ayodhya Ram Mandir for darshan when the accident took place.The collision temporarily disrupted traffic movement on Kisan Path. Police later used cranes to remove the damaged vehicles and restore normal traffic flow.Officials said further investigation into the accident is underway and no law-and-order issue was reported at the spot.