Unnao rape case: 'Truck was overspeeding on wrong side, driver fled,' say witnesses

Rae Bareli: Recalling the day of the accident, Arjun Yadav informed The Indian Express that the car in which the family of Unnao rape victim was travelling got hit by the truck which was coming from the wrong direction at a high speed injuring her and her lawyer and killing her two aunts.

“The truck driver was driving in the wrong direction and at high speed. After the accident, the driver and the cleaner of the truck fled from the spot leaving the vehicle behind,” Yadav, who runs a shop at Pore Dauli crossing where the incident took place, said.

Some other eyewitnesses also claimed that it was raining heavily and they saw a truck speeding in the wrong direction. There is a curve at Pore Dauli crossing, the truck driver was on the wrong side of the road. Suddenly, he took a turn to move to the other side of the road and the car, coming from the opposite direction, rammed into the side of the truck,” said Ramesh Chandra Yadav, who also runs a shop at the crossing.

“The truck dragged the car for around 10 meters and stopped. Before we could reach the spot, the truck driver and cleaner fled from the spot and ran into the fields. Everyone was busy trying to rescue the people in the car, so no one chased the driver and cleaner,” he said.

Police was informed which arrived in 15 minutes and rushed the injured to the district hospital. One of her aunts was declared dead at the district hospital in Rae Bareli, the others were referred for treatment to Lucknow, where another aunt died while undergoing treatment.

Another witness, Gaya Prasad (54), told The Indian Express that the truck driver must be questioned. “I also used to drive a truck before opening this shop but this was not the way to drive a heavy vehicle on road. The fact that one number plate was blacked out also needs to be probed,” he said. “The police should investigate if there is any conspiracy behind it,” said Arjun Yadav.

The central government has asked CBI to investigate the accident. Truck driver Ashish Pal, cleaner Mohan and truck owner Debendra Kishore are in police custody. “Police are looking into all angles and verifying all allegations,” ADG Lucknow Zone, Rajeev Krishna said.

The family of Pal, however, believed that he is not guilty. “There is no conspiracy. We are also demanding a CBI investigation. Had my son been involved in any wrong activities, we wouldn’t have been living in a house built of mud. We don’t have a television or a fridge in the house,” said Ashish’s mother Raj Rani, a resident of Othi village in Fatehpur district

Pal has been driving trucks for two years and his two brothers are also truck drivers. “Ashish is an expert in driving trucks. We believe Sunday’s accident occurred due to the car driver’s fault,” said Ashish’s brother Pankaj, adding that the truck’s owner Debendra Kishore is their distant relative.

Debendra’s brother Nand Kishore Pal said, “My brother had purchased the truck last year under finance from a company in Kanpur. Due to the financial crisis, Debendra failed to pay the last four installments.”

Apprehensive of seizure, one number plate was blackened out, said Nand Kishore. Kishore is a member of the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party and serves as its District Secretary of Fatehpur.

Before joining PSM, I was with the Samajwadi Party. I was Fatehpur district secretary of the SP in 2003 and later rose to a member of Samajwadi Party state committee member in 2005.”

He denied any links with MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar who has been accused of raping the woman. “No one in my family has ever met Sengar. My brother is innocent and there is no criminal conspiracy behind the accident. The cleaner Mohan has been staying with us for the last six years,” he said.