4 of Delhi family among 7 killed in Amritsar accident
Seven persons, including two women and three children, were killed when a sports utility vehicle (SUV) they were travelling in rammed into a stationary truck outside a dhaba on National Highway-1 (connecting Amritsar and Delhi) near Naranjanpur Fattuwal Adda in Khalchian village, 35km from Amritsar, at 5.15am on Monday.
AMRITSAR: Seven persons, including two women and three children, were killed when a sports utility vehicle (SUV) they were travelling in rammed into a stationary truck outside a dhaba on National Highway-1 (connecting Amritsar and Delhi) near Naranjanpur Fattuwal Adda in Khalchian village, 35km from Amritsar, at 5.15am on Monday.
Two families, one from Delhi and another from Haryana, were returning after paying obeisance at Vaishno Devi in Jammu and Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Of the eight occupants of the SUV, only a five-year-old child survived. The deceased were identified as Arvind Sharma, 36, his wife Savita, 34, daughter Mani, 13, son Seevash, 11, of Uttam Nagar in New Delhi; and Suneel, 32, his wife Poonam, 31, son Viraj, 4, of Jhajjar in Haryana. Suneel’s daughter Ishita, 5, has been admitted to a private hospital where her condition is stated to be out of danger.
Dhaba owner Gurdev Singh said he was sleeping when he heard a crashing sound. “A Mahindra Scorpio SUV (HR-19J-6831) rammed into the truck (PB-06-M-2299) which was parked outside my dhaba. I called the 181 helpline (women helpline) instead of 108 (emergency service) as I was in a shock.”
A traffic police team and an ambulance reached the spot. “It took around 2 hours for the rescuers to take out the bodies from the SUV, which was stuck under the truck,” he said.
Khalchian additional station house officer Avtar Singh said the bodies were sent to Baba Bakala civil hospital for postmortem. The injured girl was rushed to a private hospital, he said. Around 4pm, Arvind’s relatives reached Baba Bakala civil hospital to receive the bodies. His friend Vishal Sharma said Arvind worked in a Maruti Suzuki agency in Uttam Nagar. “Suneel, a driver with Delhi Transport Corporation, and Arvind were friends and were returning with families.”
Police said a case under section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against the truck driver, who is absconding.
Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has expressed shock and grief over the death of seven persons. He directed the Amritsar district administration to extend all help to the affected families.
The CM asked authorities ensure the best medical care for the child who survived. He issued strict instructions to the traffic police to maintain roundthe-clock surveillance on speed limit offenders and other violators of traffic rules on both national and state highways to ensure safety of commuters.
MEMBERS OF THE TWO FAMILIES FROM DELHI AND JHAJJAR WERE RETURNING AFTER VISIT TO VAISHNO DEVI AND GOLDEN TEMPLE