Done/ALVI Faiz.Siddiqui@timesgroup.co Kanpur: A pall of gloom descended in Lalepur and Ishwariganj villages on Wednesday when dead bodies of 18 villagers, who were killed in a road accident in Kisan Nagar area of Sachendi on Tuesday, arrived there.
While 13 victims belonged to Lalepur village, five were natives of neighbouring Ishwariganj village.
Eighteen people had died and four sustained critical injuries when a private double-decker bus collided head-on with a tempo on the highway near Kisan Nagar area of Sachendi on Tuesday evening.
While the passengers of the bus had a miraculous escape, the 18 occupants of the tempo met a tragic end.
Locals thronged the mishap site and also the two villages on Wednesday.
Heart-rending scenes were witnessed when the last journey of the accident victims headed for cremation at Bithoor Ghat.
The mortal remains were carried on four tractor-trolleys amidst heavy police presence.
As the pyres were lit, the grief-stricken family members of the victims could not control their emotions and were seen wailing inconsolably for their near and dear ones.
Prior to that, senior district and police officials visited the two villages to take stock of the situation.
What was even more tragic was that three real brothers–Ram Milan (24), Shiv Bhajan (22) and Luvlesh (20), sons of Dhaniram of Lalepur, were killed in the accident.
“It seems the fate was not kind to Dhaniram, who lost his three sons in the accident” said a villager.
“The three brothers had promised to gift expensive sarees to their mother Gita Devi on June 15, their salary day.
Also, as the victims’ duty timings were the same, they used to leave their respective villages in a tempo together for a biscuit factory daily at 7:30 pm.
On Tuesday, they had again left their respective homes, but never returned again”, he added.