At least five migrants, including a one-year-old, hailing from UP were killed and eight others critically injured on Sunday, March 29, after being hit by a truck on KMP (Kundli Manesar Palwal Expressway) in Haryana,The Weekreported.
The group was reportedly walking from Manesar to UP and had halted near Panchgaon when a speeding truck carrying vegetables rammed into them. According to the driver of the truck – Rakesh Yadav – who has been arrested, the vehicle’s brakes failed.
“There was a bus headed to Aligarh expected to come there and [around 15 of us] stood there. Suddenly a canter came from Farukh Nagar side and it was going zig-zag. There was not much light on KMP and it hit autos standing nearby. We screamed to let driver know we were there and he suddenly turned towards us and mauled us,” Kuldeep, one of the survivors, was quoted by the media.
Based on Kuldeep’s complaint, an FIR has been registered against the truck driver under sections 279, 336, 337, 304(ii) of IPC. The police are yet to identify the deceased and injured.
Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the nationwide lockdown on March 25, there has been a mass exodus of migrant workers across the nation. With transport services suspended, lakhs of migrant workers resorted to treading the journey to their hometowns hundreds of kilometres away on foot. According to various reports, at least 22 workers have died amidst the exodus.
Since March 25 thousands of daily wagers along with their families, could be seen walking along interstate highways. With no work and money, many are stranded in various cities and are struggling to find a means for food. For violating the lockdown, many of these workers were also beaten by the police.