Man dies as signboard pole falls on moving car

Pratapgarh: A 45-year-old man was killed after a signboard pole being erected at a petrol pump fell on his moving car in Uttar Pradesh’s Pratapgarh district, police said on Monday. The incident occurred on Sunday at a petrol pump in Babuganj area under the Antu police station limits when a hydra machine was being used to install the signboard pole.

Additional Superintendent of Police (East) Shailendra Lal said the strap of the hydra machine snapped during the installation, causing the heavy pole to fall onto a passing car. The driver, identified as Lal Bahadur Yadav (45), a resident of Babuganj, got trapped between the steering wheel and the seat and suffered critical injuries. Locals broke open the car door and rushed him to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead, the officer said. The police have taken the body into custody and sent it for post-mortem examination, he added. Based on a complaint lodged by the deceased’s brother, Vijay Yadav, a case has been registered against unidentified petrol pump owner and staff members under relevant sections of law.

Further investigation is underway, the police said. Some locals claimed that the deceased was associated with the Samajwadi Party. However, when contacted, district general secretary of the party Abdul Qadir Jilani said he could not confirm Yadav’s association as a party leader.