Two motorcycle riders killed, one critical after speeding SUV hits them in Rajasthan

Three motorcycle riders were crushed by a speeding Fortune SUV in Sambhal, Rajasthan, leaving two dead and one critically injured late at night.

The victims, residents of Bhulawai and Baniyakheda villages in the Baniyather police station area of Moradabad Highway, had travelled to Rajasthan to attend the Bagad Jaat festival. They were heading to a petrol pump to refuel their motorcycle when the oncoming high-speed Fortuner rammed into them head-on. The impact was so powerful that all three riders were thrown onto the road.

Vikram, 24, from Bhulawai and Yashpal, 23, from Baniyakheda died at the spot. The third rider, Saudan, 30, was critically injured in the crash.

Hundreds of people from Bhulawai and Baniyakheda villages had left on Monday night in four Eicher Canters, motorcycles and tractor-trolleys to attend the Bagad Jaat in Rajasthan. Vikram, who was a resident of Bhulawai village, had also taken his motorcycle to Rajasthan. Around two in the morning, Vikram, Saudan and Yashpal Prajapati of Baniyakheda village were riding towards a petrol pump to fill fuel when the accident occurred.

Both Vikram and Yashpal worked as photographers at wedding ceremonies and other functions. No one who accompanied them to Rajasthan had imagined that instead of returning home after the festival, news of their deaths would arrive. When word of the accident reached the villages, families were devastated. The simultaneous deaths of the two young men have plunged Bhulawai and Baniyakheda villages into mourning, with waves of grief sweeping through both communities.