India: Vegetable vendor loses legs as running train hits him in Kanpur

Kanpur: A vegetable vendor lost both his legs after being run over by a train here on Friday. He was assembling his belongings allegedly thrown on the tracks during an anti-encroachment drive. The incident happened in the Kalyanpur area.

An eyewitness claimed that the victim went to the tracks to pick up his belongings and his weighing scale, allegedly thrown by the men in khaki on railway tracks. He was run over by an oncoming train.

Locals claimed that the Indira Nagar police station in charge and head constable Rakesh Kumar chased the street vendors off GT Road.

The police have said that the incident happened during an anti-encroachment drive, which was being conducted at a local level.

"Prima facie, it appears that Head Constable Rakesh Kumar showed negligent behaviour. He has been suspended. We are inquiring the incident," said Vijay Dhul, Deputy Commissioner of Police, UP West.

He added that videos shot by onlookers are being looked at to establish sequence of events.

The victim was rushed to a hospital where his condition remains to be reportedly critical.

The victim's father, who reportedly an auto-rickshaw driver, said both of the legs of his son were severed on the spot.

"He is just 20 years old. They could've been a bit civil if they wanted to clear the area," he told.