A 40-year-old lost control of his SUV and rammed into a Ganpati Chaturthi procession in Chhattisgarh’s Jashpur district, killing three and injuring more than 20 people on Tuesday night. The driver was dragged out of his vehicle and beaten up by the crowd.
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The incident occurred around 11 pm in Jurudand village when a procession was moving towards a lake to immerse the Ganesh idol. A tractor carrying a DJ system was ahead of the procession, along with a small rickshaw carrying the idol.
The accused, Sukhsagar Vaishnav (40), a driver by profession, was returning from Ambikapur. “The procession was a few minutes from the lake, around the Bagicha-Jashpur road, a state highway, when the speeding Bolero rammed into the crowd. We checked the brakes with the help of a mechanic, and they were working fine. It seems the driver panicked and stepped on the accelerator,” said a police officer.
“The car stopped 20-30 meters ahead of the accident spot after which a crowd pulled him out and assaulted him,” an officer said.
The three deceased have been identified as Vipin Prajapati (17), Arvind Kerketta (19), and Khirovati Yadav (32).
Jashpur Senior Superintendent of Police Shashi Mohan Singh said the blood test report of the accused is awaited to ascertain if he was driving under the influence.
