A speeding car ran over people going for idol immersion of Goddess Durga on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday in Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal, injuring at least three people.
Among those injured is a teenager, identified as 16-year-old Roshan Mahawar, who was reportedly dragged for a few metres with the car, reported Hindustan Times. As per Bhopal's Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Irshad Wali, Mahawar was admitted to a nearby hospital and was said to be in critical condition.
A video of the incident was shared by a bystander, which showed the car reversing into the crowd at high speed as pedestrians scrambled to get out of the vehicle's path.
The police were piecing together CCTV footage and videos shot by procession-goers to identify the accused, DIG Wali told NDTV .
The other two injured were identified as Chetan Sahu (26) and Surendra Sen (25). The two, along with one on-duty police head constable sustained minor injuries, according to NDTV.
Following the incident, devotees who were a part of the procession raised a ruckus and demanded action against the police for failing to manage traffic in Bajaria, which is a crowded area of the city and is close to the railway station, as per Hindustan Times.
Sahu, who is one of the injured, told them that some police officers present at the scene were trying to manage the procession. He said that the car suddenly hit them and the driver fled immediately after.
"Some action should also be taken against the local police station in charge for failing in giving protection to devotees during the procession," he told Hindustan Times.
As of Sunday, 17 October, Mahawar's condition had stabilised, according to the doctors at Hamidia hospital. Speaking to news agency ANI, DIG Irshad Wali said, "The car driver has been arrested and the vehicle seized. Further investigation is underway."
The vehicle's driver was travelling from Bengaluru and was on his way to Indore, when he had stopped to get food near the railway station in Bhopal.
"While reversing the car, the vehicle hit one of the bystanders. The bystander got violent and smashed the car, as a result of which he reversed the car at high speed to escape from getting hurt," a police source told NDTV.
The driver was arrested Sunday morning on 17 October, but was later released on bail, reported NDTV.
(With inputs from NDTV and Hindustan Times.)
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