Lohta Hit-and-Run: Hardoi Truck Driver Ankit Pal Arrested

Lohta police on Sunday arrested truck driver Ankit Pal of Aikhara village in Hardoi from Kerakatpur after he allegedly fled a Saturday hit-and-run on Station Road near Mahajani International Factory that killed fruit seller Chedi Bari, 65, of Bhatthi and Rashid Jamal, 20, of Badi Masjid, Lohta.

Police said Pal was driving a courier parcel truck when the crash took place. He allegedly left the vehicle at the scene and fled. Officers traced him to Kerakatpur on Sunday, arrested him and seized the accident truck. He has been sent to jail. Station house officer Abhijit Singh confirmed the arrest and custody steps.

The Saturday incident remains the alleged background to this arrest update. According to police, the truck hit the two pedestrians on Station Road near Mahajani International Factory in Lohta. Chedi Bari, about 65, worked as a fruit seller from Bhatthi. Rashid Jamal, about 20, was from Badi Masjid in Lohta. Both died in the crash, police said. The deaths were reported on Saturday; Sunday brought the arrest and the seizure of the truck.

All accounts of how the truck was driven, why the driver fled, and the precise point of impact remain allegations under investigation. Arrest and seizure put a named accused and a vehicle on the file. Guilt or innocence is for the court.

Kerakatpur as the arrest location and Aikhara in Hardoi as Pal's village fix the geography of the custody step. Courier parcel trucks move regularly through the Lohta industrial and Station Road belt; matching a left-behind vehicle to a driver who had left the district is the practical police work that Sunday's raid completed, officers indicated.

Readers who followed Saturday's Lohta hit-and-run reports will recognise the same two pedestrian deaths. What is new since then is Ankit Pal's identity, the Hardoi village, the Kerakatpur arrest, the courier truck seizure and jail custody under SHO Abhijit Singh.

Family demand for a quick arrest after two deaths on the spot is common in such files. Sunday's custody step answers that demand in part by naming a driver and locking the truck. Charge sheets, witness statements and any CCTV stills that helped the Kerakatpur lead will decide how the case moves next. Until a court rules, the crash itself stays alleged.

For Varanasi readers the live story is now the arrest: Hardoi truck driver Ankit Pal in custody for the alleged Station Road hit-and-run that killed Chedi Bari and Rashid Jamal, with the accident truck seized and the accused jailed, according to Lohta police.