3 killed as bus on way to Modi's rally in Raipur hits truck

Three persons were killed and six others injured when a bus ferrying people to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's public rally in Raipur rammed into a stationary truck in Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur district on Friday, the police said.

PM Modi and Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel have expressed grief over the accident.

The kin of each of the deceased in the accident will get a cumulative ex gratia of Rs 9 lakh -- Rs 4 lakh by the state government and Rs 5 lakh by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party.

The accident occurred in the morning near Beltara village when the bus with around 40 people on board was heading to Raipur from Ambikapur, Bilaspur Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh said.

Prima facie, the bus driver could not clearly see the stationary truck parked on the roadside due to heavy rainfall, as a result of which the bus rammed into it from the rear side, he said.

”Three people died in the accident, while six others sustained injuries, two of them critically,” he said.

The deceased were identified as Sajan (30) and Rukdev (45), both natives of Surajpur district, and bus driver Akram Raza (28), a resident of Balrampur district, he said.

Of the injured, the condition of two -- Lilu Gupta, who is BJP's Latori unit mandal president in Surajpur, and Vishambhar Yadav, the party's mandal general secretary in Surajpur -- is said to be critical and they have been shifted to a private hospital in Bilaspur, he said.

Four other injured were admitted to Chhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences (CIMS), Bilspur, he said. An investigation into the incident is underway, Singh added.

The PM's rally was held at Science College ground in Raipur.

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel expressed grief over the accident.

”I announce an assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the kin members of each of the deceased in the accident with the bus which was heading to attend the public meeting of the Honorable Prime Minister," Baghel tweeted.

”Instructions have been given to the administration to provide better treatment to the injured. We all stand with their families during this difficult time,” he added.

In his address at the rally, PM Modi condoled the death of three persons in the accident and said all possible assistance is being provided to those injured in the accident.

Amit Chimnani, in charge of the state BJP unit's media wing, said that their party's state chief Arun Sao has announced Rs 5 lakh for the kin of each of the deceased.

The treatment cost of the injured will also be borne by the state BJP, he said.

Union Minister of State Renuka Singh and Leader of Opposition Narayan Chandel visited the injured persons at the Bilaspur hospital, he said.