'Haunted' police booth claimed many lives in Uttar Pradesh

Chowki Bhooth

But even the police personnel shiver at the very thought of sitting there, leave alone the common people.

The reason, according to them, is very simple.

The police booth, situated at a three-way crossing in Mohmadabad-Gohna area on the busy Azamgarh-Ballia state highway, has claimed lives of an estimated 50 people in a year while injuring hundreds others.

Barely a couple of days ago, seven members of a wedding party were killed and several others injured when a speeding SUV carrying them rammed into the police booth in the wee hours of the morning.

“It is not an isolated incident.... since last year as many as 22 mishaps have taken place here... scores of vehicles have rammed into the booth killing an estimated 50 people,” said a localite.

“People have started term­ing it haunted... forget about commoners, even the police personnel prefer to stand outside it,” he added.

The local people say the booth’s location is such that it is not visible to drivers easily.
“It suddenly appears and by the time drivers apply brakes, it would be too late,” they said.

They said the local people had in the past also demanded either demolition of the booth or construction of a few speed breakers a few metres before and after the booth. But it fell on deaf ears.

Sub-divisional magistrate Rama Shankar Gupta said a proposal to construct speed breakers has been sent to the Public Works Department.