LUCKNOW: Three friends riding on a motorcycle were killed after a speeding truck rammed into their bike on the Tanda-Banda national highway near Shivganj village under the Munshiganj police station area of Amethi district late on Thursday night. The truck driver fled from the spot along with the vehicle after the accident, police said.The deceased were identified as Karan (20), a resident of Shri Ka Purwa village in the Munshiganj area, and Ankitt (20) and Arjun (22), both residents of Ghasitu Ka Purwa in Kotwali Nagar area of Sultanpur district.According to police and local residents, the three youths had come to attend a ‘bariksha’ ceremony organised in the village. Late at night, they were returning on a single motorcycle when a speeding truck allegedly hit their bike near a road cut close to Shivganj village.The impact of the collision was so severe that Karan and Ankitt died on the spot. Arjun sustained critical injuries and was rushed to the Sultanpur district hospital for treatment, where he later succumbed during treatment.Villagers said the truck was moving at a very high speed at the time of the accident. After hitting the motorcycle, the driver allegedly fled towards Rae Bareli without stopping to help the victims.On receiving information, Munshiganj police reached the spot and sent the bodies for postmortem examination. Police have also started scanning CCTV footage installed near the highway in an attempt to identify the truck involved in the accident.Station house officer Shivakant Tripathi said that an investigation is underway and efforts are being made to trace the absconding truck driver.The deaths of the three youths have cast a pall of gloom over the village, with grieving family members inconsolable after the tragedy.
