SUV set ablaze after crash injures 12 pilgrims on Gujarat highway

While on a padyatra to the Ambaji shrine for the annual Bhadarvi Poonam fair, twelve pilgrims were hit by a speeding Scorpio SUV on the Himmatnagar-Idar highway near Dolgarh Patiya in Sabarkantha district. According to Sabarkantha superintendent of police Parthrajsinh Gohil, the driver disregarded signals from a Gujarat Rakshak Dal guard at a police checkpoint and collided with the walkers before fleeing the scene. Angered locals and fellow pilgrims set the vehicle ablaze, but authorities later tracked down the driver, a Himmatnagar resident, and placed him in custody.

The injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital in Himmatnagar; Dr. KB Parmar reported that twelve people are receiving treatment, including one in the ICU and two transferred to private hospitals. The victims hail from villages in Panchmahal and Kheda districts.