October 21, 2025
PRAYAGRAJ – A horrific road accident rocked the Rajrooppur area of Prayagraj on Sunday afternoon when a speeding Jaguar ran over eight people and collided with multiple vehicles amid a bustling Diwali crowd.
The luxury vehicle, reportedly owned by the family of prominent local sweets business Kamdhenu Sweets, hit two four-wheelers and five two-wheelers before crashing. One young man, identified as Pradeep Patel, an electrician by profession, died on the spot while four others were rushed to a hospital with serious injuries, including two children in critical condition.
The car was allegedly being driven by Rachit Madhyan, a member of the Kamdhenu Sweets family and a resident of Lukarganj. Eyewitnesses claimed that he was heavily intoxicated and driving alone at an extremely high speed, nearly 100 km/h, when he lost control of the vehicle. The car’s airbags failed to deploy, leaving the driver himself critically injured. Notably, the vehicle’s doors were locked from the inside and he had to be rescued by police personnel before being sent to the hospital.
According to the Regional Transport Office (RTO), the Jaguar is registered under KSN Foods LLP, with an address listed at 122 Lukarganj.
The incident triggered public outrage. Enraged locals vandalized the car and staged a protest at Rajrooppur crossing, blocking the road and shouting slogans against reckless driving and administrative negligence. Police officials arrived at the scene and struggled to bring the situation under control, eventually restoring traffic after pacifying the crowd.
Pradeep Patel’s family has refused to allow a postmortem examination of his body. A probe into the incident is underway.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident in the Etah district, two men returning home for Diwali were killed when an unidentified vehicle collided with their motorcycle on Saturday night near Aaspur village under the Malawan police station limits.
According to SHO Rohit Rathi, the three victims were employed in Gurugram and were on their way home when the fatal crash occurred. Anuj (50), a resident of Hardoi, and Abhishek Maurya (55), from the Mau district, died on the spot, while a third individual, Sanjay, sustained serious injuries and is currently receiving treatment at Avanti Bai Medical College in Etah.
The police were alerted by bystanders and are now investigating the case using CCTV footage from the area to identify the hit-and-run driver. The bodies of the deceased have been sent for post-mortem, and their families have been informed.