A day after 26 people died after a tractor-trolley overturned and fell into a pond here, a station house officer was suspended for dereliction of duty, a senior official said on Sunday.

The tractor-trolley was on its way to Ghatampur after the passengers attended a 'mundan' ceremony at the Chandrika Devi temple in Fatehpur when the accident took place near Bhadeuna village under the Saadh police station limits on Saturday evening.

"The SHO of Saadh police station has been suspended for dereliction of duty. The rescue operation is complete, and post-mortem examination of the deceased was conducted at night. The cremation of the deceased is going on at the Deori Ghat in Maharajpur," District Magistrate Vishak G told PTI.

"The death toll stands at 26, nine people are injured. A total of 35 people were travelling in the ill-fated tractor-trolley," he said.

A senior police official said the accident site was around one kilometre away from the Saadh police station but the SHO reached there after almost an hour.

The Centre has announced financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday appealed to people to use tractor-trolleys only for farming-related purposes and transporting goods and not for ferrying passengers.