Cops fail to nab 13 drivers who mowed down migrants in UP

LUCKNOW: Truck drivers allegedly involved in 13 of the 18 accidents that killed 70 migrants in a month in UP have managed to give the slip to the police so far.
The UP police has arrested only five truck drivers against whom FIRs have been lodged. The 13 who are still on the run are accused of causing 27 deaths. The unsolved cases include death of six migrants in Mathura, three each in Aligarh, Barabanki and Jhansi and two each in Prayagraj, Jalaun and Lucknow.
Overloading and reckless driving allegedly led to the 18 accidents. In four of these accidents, migrants were on foot, three were on bicycles, two on motorcycles, seven on trucks and two were sleeping on the roadside.
The police blame long duty hours during Covid-19, because of which they could not work upon these cases, whereas others said that the vehicles which mowed down migrants were of other states and it was risky to send teams for search operations. ADG, law and order, Prashant Kumar-I told TOI that all pending cases involving migrants' death are under the purview of senior police officers. He said arrests were made in cases where evidence was clear.
"We are tracing the whereabouts of the truck which crushed two Bhadoi labourers in Jalaun on May 15," said Ait SHO, Vinod Kumar.
Police in Barabanki, Maharajganj and Unnao have been roped in for the task.
ACP, Mohanlalganj, Sanjeev Sinha said the case in which an unidentified vehicle crushed Krishna Sahu, Pramila Sahu of Chhattisgarh on Shaheed Path on May 8 is being worked on.
Investigating officers of cases involving deaths of nine migrants in accidents in Mathura and Aligarh claimed vehicles which crushed migrants were of other states and the drivers had fled.
SHO Magorra in Mathura, Rohan Lal said the truck which rammed an auto killing six migrants on May 4 was seized from the spot.