Two men were struck by a train while crossing a closed railway gate in Kanpur's Panki area. One victim was identified as Sanjeev, a mason from Mainpuri.

Two young men were struck by a train while crossing railway tracks at a closed gate in Kanpur's Panki area on Thursday night, around 8 PM. The impact was so severe that both bodies were mutilated. The incident was captured on CCTV installed nearby, and police later sent both bodies for post-mortem.

One of the dead has been identified as Sanjeev, also called Sanju, 35, a resident of Mainpuri. The second man remains unidentified.

Sanjeev was a mason who worked in Gurugram. His father, Teekam Singh, is a farmer from Kishni Katra in Mainpuri, and has three sons, Rakesh, Dilip, and Sanjeev. Sanjeev is survived by his wife Sangeeta and two children, Lakshmi and Avnish.

According to his father, Sanjeev had gone to his in-laws' house in Patarsa about four days earlier to celebrate Karva Chauth. His wife was already staying there. After the Karva Chauth puja on Thursday night, Sanjeev set out to return home.

His wife Sangeeta said she urged him repeatedly not to travel so late and suggested he leave in the morning instead, but he did not agree and departed late at night.

Around 10 PM, he reached the Panki Padav railway crossing. The gate was closed at the time and people were waiting for a train to pass. During this window, Sanjeev and another young man climbed onto the tracks to cross despite the barrier. The Uchahar Express then came through at high speed and hit both of them.

The train's speed was such that Sanjeev was dragged along for roughly 100 metres. Both bodies were seriously mutilated in the collision. Locals called 112 to alert the police, after which the Panki police and the GRP reached the spot.

An Aadhaar card and a mobile phone recovered from one of the men led to Sanjeev's identification. Police informed his family. The other body was too damaged to be identified, and efforts to establish who he was are continuing.

Family members reached the post-mortem house on Friday evening, and the GRP completed the required paperwork before the procedure.

Teekam Singh said his elder son had left home several days earlier and had been staying at his in-laws' place. He said he did not know exactly how the accident happened or where Sanjeev was headed, adding that he was not certain whether his son was returning home after the festival or going elsewhere.

Sangeeta, who reached the spot late at night after hearing the news, broke down on seeing her husband's body. She kept repeating that she had told him not to leave at night.

She said she had kept the Karva Chauth fast for her husband's long life. After the puja, he told her he was going home, and shortly afterwards news of his death arrived. People present at the spot were visibly shaken as well.

ACP Panki Amit Chaurasiya said information about the accident came through the 112 helpline late at night. Local police and the GRP reached the site.