Hapur: Six teenagers died instantly February 25 night when a speeding train hit them in Uttar Pradesh state. One boy is battling for life in a hospital.
Eyewitnesses claim the boys between 14 and 16 years were casually walking across the track when the train hit them at Sadikpura in Pilkhuwa, some 65 km east of Delhi.
They were daily wagers and worked as painters and helpers.
All seven were supposed to take a train from Ghaziabad for a painting contract in Hyderabad, capital of Telangana state in southern India.
But they missed their train and returned to Pilakhua a little after midnight. Vijay, Akash, Rahul, Sameer, Arif and Salim died on the spot as the train hit them. The wounded boy is yet to identified.
After the incident local residents blocked the railway track in protest, they claim the area is poorly lit at night and there is continuous movement of people who reportedly take a shortcut by crossing the train tracks. Residents claim there is no warning when trains arrive and even the elderly and children on their way to school often cross the tracks at that spot.
A large contingent of police force has been sent to tackle the situation in Sadikpura. The superintendent of police Hemant Kutiyal and the District Magistrate Krishna Karunesh have rushed to the spot after tension erupted in the area.
(Source: ndtv.com)