Shimla, May 14
Little did Sunaina realise that she would never complete her B.Ed. course when she boarded the ill-fated HRTC bus along with her father Bhoop Singh from Mandi last evening.

Both, along with the driver of the bus, Mr Prem Singh who were shot dead by terrorists at Kaluchak belonged to Himachal Pradesh.

Sunaina, a resident of the Nalsar village in Mandi district, was doing her B.Ed. course in a private college at Srinagar and her father Bhoop Singh was accompanying her there.

Reports said the terrorists first shot at Bhoop Singh who was trying to save his daughter.

The driver, Mr Prem Singh, was shot dead by the terrorists as they suspected that he might try to run away with the vehicle. Known as Chhotu among his friends, he belonged to the Jogindernagar area of Mandi district.

Prem Singh had started driving the bus from Palampur early this morning when the earlier driver who had brought the vehicle from Manali went for rest.

The bus (HP34-A 1032) had left for Jammu from Manali last evening.

The Transport Minister, Mr Kishen Kapoor, along with the Deputy Commissioner and Superintendent of Kangra have rushed to Jammu to provide relief to the wounded passengers and make arrangements for bringing the bodies of the three Himachalis to their native places.

A former PCC president, Mr Sat Mahajan, also reached Jammu from Nurpur and went to the site of the incident and Jammu Medical College where the injured have been admitted.

Confusion prevailed at the state headquarters till late in the evening as the identity of those killed was not known to the police. Senior officers could not be reached as they were busy at a meeting.