M A I N   N E W S

9 Sacha Sauda followers die in accident
From Sushil Manav

FATEHABAD, July 5 — Nine persons, including five women, were killed and 23 others injured, four of them seriously, when a mini truck in which they were travelling hit a stationary truck near Daryapur village, 7 km from here, in the wee hours of today.

The mini truck was coming from Delhi and was carrying followers of the Sacha Sauda sect from Mangolpuri (Delhi) to a Sirsa-based dera of the sect.

Those seriously injured have been referred to Medical College and Hospital Rohtak.

According to survivors of the mishap, the mini truck belonging to the Mini Tempo Service Nangloi hit the truck with such force that it dragged the truck loaded with heavy stones to a few metres. The driver of the mini truck could not see the truck due to the sharp headlights of a roadways bus coming from the opposite direction. Six persons, including four women, were killed on the spot. The driver and the helper of the truck who were changing a deflated tyre on the road fled from the site immediately.

The victims cried for help but no one stopped to help them. A roadways bus stopped for a while at the accident site but left for Sirsa without helping the injured. The driver of the bus, however, telephoned the Sirsa-based dera and informed it. Dera inmates informed their counterparts at Fatehabad and it was only at 6.30 a.m. that help could reach the victims. Rescue work was further delayed as the driver of the hospital ambulance was not traceable. Rescuers had a great difficulty in extricating the bodies from the cabin of the truck.

The injured were brought to the local general hospital where three more persons, including a woman, succumbed to their injuries. Five of the victims have been identified as Ghansham (driver of the mini truck), Bharat Singh, Sharvan, Kailo Devi and Chandawati. Four other bodies, including those of three women, could not be identified immediately. All victims hailed from Mangolpuri in Delhi.

Four of the seriously injured women — Phoolwanti, Shanti, Kamlesh and Badamo — have been referred to Medical College Rohtak.

The injured undergoing treatment at the general hospital include Phoolwati, Hansi Ram, Ram Wanti, Ram Kumar, Kusam, Hemwanti, Shanti, Monu, Saroj, Mahesh, Jitender, Meenu, Dharampaul, Vijay Kumar, Krishana, Vidya Sumita, Parkash and Mukesh.