6 die, 7 hurt in separate road accidents in Patna and Barh on Holi

Patna: Six people were killed and at least seven injured in multiple road accidents across Patna, Barh and neighbouring areas during Holi on Wednesday.The most horrific incident occurred on the Bihta–Sarmera State Highway-78 near Jamalpur village under the same police station, where three youths died and one was seriously injured after two motorcycles collided head-on, following which a speeding unidentified vehicle ran over two of them.Ravi Kumar (25), son of Rampravesh Kewat of Sundarpur, Dhanrua, was heading to his in-laws’ house in Shivchak, Fatuha, while Shankar Ram (35), son of Bharat Ram of Chak Surat, Shahjahanpur, was travelling towards Beldarichak. The collision threw all four riders onto the road. A speeding vehicle then ran over Ravi and Shankar, dragging one body for nearly 200 metres and mutilating it before fleeing towards Beldarichak. Both died on the spot.The injured—Shankar’s brother-in-law Suraj Kumar of Dallu Bigha and another pillion rider—were rushed to Masaurhi hospital and later referred to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). Suraj succumbed during treatment.Angry locals blocked the highway for nearly three hours. Upon being informed, Fatuha SDPO-II Sanjeev Kumar and teams from Daniyawan and Shahjahanpur police stations reached the spot, pacified the crowd and sent the bodies for post-mortem.In another incident, a 32-year-old man died and two others were seriously injured while heading to celebrate Holi in the Pandarak police station area of Barh in Patna. The deceased, identified as Bhulla of Pandarak, was walking with Harihar Mahato and Jhori Mahato when a speeding unidentified four-wheeler hit them. The vehicle overturned into a ditch, and the driver fled. The injured were taken to the sub-divisional hospital. Pandarak police station in-charge Navneet Rai said the driver is absconding.A four-year-old girl died in a road accident on Holi evening at Choti Pahadi under Agamkuan police station. The victim, Guljaan Parveen, daughter of daily wage worker Mohammad Fayaz Hasan—originally from Madhepura and residing in a rented house—was playing with other children when a speeding car ran over her, killing her on the spot.Enraged locals stopped the vehicle, thrashed passenger Mukesh Kumar and vandalised the car. However, the driver escaped. Agamkuan police and Zero Mile Traffic Police reached the spot, controlled the mob and took Mukesh to NMCH. Zero Mile traffic police in-charge Neeraj Kumar Jha said, “Raids are on to arrest the absconding driver, Suraj Kumar.”In another incident, a 27-year-old man, Anand Vishal, of Selgarh, Ranitalab, died on the spot on the Bikram–Naubatpur canal road under Piplawan police station. A cab driver in Patna, Anand was returning on his bike after celebrating Holi when he lost control near Faridpura and hit a roadside tree, suffering fatal head injuries. Piplawan police informed the family and sent the body for post-mortem.Two people were also injured in separate accidents in the Naubatpur and Gopalpur police station areas on Wednesday.