Four died and three others were seriously injured after the car they were travelling rammed into a canter parked on the roadside in UP’s Rampur district on early Saturday said police.
According to police, the deceased have been identified as Delhi residents Abhishek Agnihotri, 28, Kartik Rajput, 32, Neeraj Singh, 31, and Gulbuddin, 28. The injured — Kamal, Vishal and Jatin were administered first aid at a community health centre (CHC) before being referred to the district hospital in Rampur for further treatment.
Police revealed that all 12 members of the group were residents of Delhi and were associated with a private IT firm, either as employees or B2B vendors. The company had rewarded the group with a trip to Corbett National Park after they achieved a designated target. A group of 11 IT professionals left for Ramnagar in two cars, with 7 travelling one vehicle and 5 in the other.
Akhilesh Singh, a colleague travelling with the group, who changed the car mid way told police that a tyre of the car that later met with the accident got punctured about one kilometer before the crash site. On missing the cars trail, they tried calling its occupants to find out what had happened. They then learnt that the vehicle had crashed into the rear of a canter parked along the roadside near the Kotwali. They immediately rushed to the spot pulled the occupants out of the mingled car and took them to the CHC, where doctors declared Abhishek Agnihotri, Kartik Rajput and Neeraj Singh dead. Gulbuddin, who had sustained critical injuries, later died during treatment. Kamal, Vishal and Jatin remain under treatment.
Police have taken possession of the damaged car and the canter and moved both vehicles to the Mandi Samiti premises as part of the investigation, he said. “The exact cause of the accident is yet to be ascertained. CCTV footage from the area is being examined,” the SP added.