Shahjahanpur (UP), Apr 16 (PTI) An earthmover dug up graves for children and firewood lay piled up elsewhere in Ajmatpur village on Sunday as grief-stricken families prepared to bid a final farewell to their loved ones who died after a tractor-trolley fell off a bridge.

In the bylanes of the village, the commotion outside was drowned out in the mournful cries of parents whose children were suddenly snatched away and other families who lost their kin.

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One such parent is Murarilal, who lost his son Amit (18) and daughter Shivani (16) in the accident that took place on Saturday. Murarilal's nephew Duggu (8) was also among those killed.

"Our village has been virtually devastated as 14 people of the village have lost their lives. Only crying and wailing can be heard in the village. I have not seen such a tragedy in my entire life," village head Vijaypal told PTI.

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Shahjahanpur District Magistrate (DM) Umesh Pratap Singh, who reached Ajmatpur in the morning, said earthmovers were pressed into service to dig graves for children and the last rites of men and women were performed separately amid heavy police presence in the village.

Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna, MLAs Manvendra Singh and Salona Kushwaha, and Samajwadi Party leader Roshanlal Verma also visited the village, according to officials.

Twelve people from Ajmatpur were killed and several injured on Saturday after the tractor-trolley in which they were travelling fell off the bridge near Birsinghpur village on the Tilhar-Nigohi road. The passengers were on their way to fetch water from the Garra river for a 'Bhagwat Katha', according to officials.

The death toll climbed to 14 on Sunday, DM Singh said.

"Among the 14 killed in the tractor-trolley tragedy, 10 were minors (in the age group of 7-17), three women and a man. A total of 41 people were travelling in the tractor-trolley," said Superintendent of Police (SP) S Anand.

Chief Medical Superintendent of the state medical college Dr Shailendra Kumar said 26 people are undergoing treatment at the facility and one has been referred to Lucknow.

SP Anand said a case has been registered in connection with Saturday's accident and a team has been constituted to probe it.

The tractor driver, Saurabh, has been detained. The police are also questioning the organiser of the 'Bhagwat Katha', Akash Tiwari, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)