A fast speeding roadways bus hit a group of migrant labourers going to Bihar from Punjab claiming lives of six of them and leaving four others injured on Saharanpur-Muzaffarnagar State Highway 59, post-midnight on Wednesday.

The driver of the bus, Rajeev, was later arrested by the police from Kotwali area of Muzzaffarnagar on Thursday, while the arrangements are being made to send the dead bodies to the native village of deceased labourers at Gopalganj in Bihar.

Two seriously injured labourers were referred to Meerut for treatment while other two injured are under treatment in Muzaffarnagar district hospital, informed Dr Vineet Kaushik posted at Muzaffarnagar district hospital. He said that 10 labourers were brought in the hospital post-midnight. Out of these, six were brought dead while two were admitted here in the hospital would be discharged today.

The incident was reported between Ghalauli check-post and Rohana toll plaza on Saharanpur- Muzaffarnagar State Highway 59 at around 12.30 am. Some migrant labourers were walking towards their native village in Gopalganj, Bihar when a fast-moving roadways bus ran over them. Some area residents who were fast asleep at that time awoke to hear the screams of injured labourers and they rushed for help. The Police was informed immediately which arrived there and took the injured to the district hospital of Muzzaffarnagar. But six labourers, unfortunately, were declared dead by the hospital staff.

The deceased have been identified as Harek Singh (52) and his son Vikas (22), Guddu (18), Vasudev (22), Harish Sahni (42) and Virendra (28). Those who have been admitted in Meerut are identified as Sushil and Ranjeet.

Driver Rajeev who had run away with the roadways bus, which he was driving, was later arrested by the police from Kotwali area of Muzzaffarnagar. Anil Kapran, Inspector of Muzzaffarnagar Kotwali confirmed the arresting and said they took Help of the CCTV footage of toll plaza to identify him. Now arrangements are being made to send the dead bodies to Bihar at the village of deceased labourers, said Kapran.

The labourers were on their way back to their village in Gopalganj, Bihar as their factory where they were working in Punjab had closed due to lockdown.