Pick-up overturns, chickens scatter : villagers swarm to loot while injured driver lies helpless; hunt spreads into bushes

Jaunpur (The Uttam Hindu): After a road accident in Chandwak police station area of ​​Jaunpur district on Saturday morning, a strange but shameful picture of humanity came to light. Here, as a pickup van loaded with chickens overturned in a ditch, panic broke out among the local people, but this panic was not to help the injured, but to loot the free chickens. As soon as the vehicle overturned amidst the severe cold and the chickens came out due to the breaking of the net, a crowd of villagers present on the spot pounced on the vehicle with the intention of 'looting'. Whoever got as many chickens as he could, was seen running away with them in his hands.

The accident occurred near the Gomti River bridge on the Varanasi-Azamgarh road. The pickup driver, Akhilesh Gautam, said he was carrying a shipment of chickens from Azamgarh to Mughalsarai. Early in the morning, a tire suddenly burst with a loud bang, sending the vehicle careening out of control and overturning into a deep ditch. The driver was injured in the accident, and the vehicle's net broke, causing the chickens to escape and run wild.

As soon as news of the accident spread, a crowd of nearby villagers gathered. Instead of inquiring about the condition of the injured driver, people started chasing the roosters. According to eyewitnesses, the entire crowd would rush in the direction from which the roosters' crowing sounded. Villagers were seen searching for roosters along the roadside, in the fields, and in the bushes. The situation was such that a stampede-like atmosphere prevailed at the scene for a long time due to this looting spree. The injured driver watched helplessly as his hard-earned money was looted before his eyes, but he was helpless against the mob. Within a short time, the villagers had looted everything except a few roosters.