In a major road accident on the Meerut-Badaun highway in UP's Sambhal district, an SUV carrying a wedding party slammed into the wall of a college, killing eight people on the spot, including the groom, a teenager and two young children. 

The accident occurred near Junawai town on Friday evening, when a Mahindra Bolero carrying 10 people from Hargovindpur village rammed into the boundary wall of Janata Inter College, purportedly after the driver lost control. The vehicle was part of a wedding procession heading to Sirsoul village in Badaun district.

The deceased include: Suraj Pal (20), the groom; Ravi (28), Asha (26), Sachin (22), Madhu (20), Komal (15), Aishwarya (3), and Ganesh (2).

Eyewitnesses said that the car was travelling at high speed before it struck the wall. A part of the college building suffered heavy damage due to the collision.

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According to the police, Sukhram, a resident of Hargovindpur, had arranged his son Suraj’s wedding. Eleven vehicles carrying the wedding party had already departed when one Mahindra Bolero, carrying the groom and nine others, was left a little behind.

As the Bolero approached Junawai, it veered off course and crashed at high speed into the college wall. The impact was so severe that the vehicle was torn apart. Local residents rushed to the scene to help, and with great effort, managed to pull the victims out of the wreckage. The injured were rushed to the nearby Community Health Centre (CHC), but doctors declared eight of them dead on arrival.

Two other passengers, Himanshi and Deva, were critically injured and referred to a higher medical centre.

Eyewitness Raju Yadav, a resident of Junawai, told HT, “Initially when we tried to pull the injured out, since the vehicle was so badly damaged, some were still trapped inside. I called for a JCB (excavator), and with its help we were able to cut open the vehicle to get them out."

Sambhal superintendent of police Krishan Kumar Bishnoi gave the briefing, "A car carrying 10 wedding guests, including the groom, collided with the wall of Janata Inter College on the Meerut-Badaun highway. Eight people have died. Two others are critically injured and have been referred to a higher medical centre. Post-mortem procedures are underway."