Cops said victims were unaware the bridge over Ramganga river was incomplete
BAREILLY: Three men from Uttar Pradesh died when their taxi plunged off an incomplete bridge in Faridpur on Saturday night while travelling from Gurugram to Bareilly. Police said they were using navigation app, Google Maps, to navigate from Dataganj (Budaun) to Faridpur via Khallpur but were unaware the bridge over the Ramganga river was incomplete.
The accident occurred late at night, leaving the victims without help. On Sunday morning, Khallpur villagers spotted the car under the incomplete bridge and informed the police. Officers from Faridpur police station in Bareilly district and Budaun’s Dataganj station arrived at the scene.
Kin criticise lack of barricades on bridge
Faridpur circle officer (CO) Ashutosh Shivam confirmed the accident site was under the Faridpur police jurisdiction, adding that the bodies were retrieved using a boat.
Faridpur SHO Rahul Singh checked the victims’ mobile phones and found that they were navigating with Google Maps. He said, “We recovered the identity card of a Gurugram-based security company in the car. The victims were then identified as Nitin Kumar (30), his cousins Ajit Kumar (35), and Amit Kumar (30). Nitin and Ajit, residents of Farrukhabad, worked as drivers for a Gurugram-based security company, while Amit, from Mainpuri, was their distant relative.” The CO also said the bodies have been sent for an autopsy and their families have been informed about the accident.
Nitin’s brother-in-law, Pramod Kumar, criticised the lack of barricades and said, “They were checking the route using Google Maps and fell from the incomplete bridge. The road should have been blocked, but it wasn’t. The maps shouldn’t have shown that the bridge was complete.” He demanded an investigation and action against those responsible.
The Faridpur side of the bridge had been washed away in a flood months ago. Faridpur SDM Gulab Singh told TOI, “The bridge is being constructed by UP State Bridge Corporation Ltd and the approach road in Budaun towards it was open. We have ordered an investigation, and action will be taken against the guilty officials.”
The men were travelling to Faridpur from Gurugram for the wedding of Nitin’s cousin’s daughter on Sunday, said Kumar. He added, “They had attended another wedding in Budaun on Saturday night, which is why they were taking the route through Budaun to Faridpur instead of the Moradabad-Bareilly route from Gurugram.”
Belgium
Related News :