Goraya (Jalandhar), July 3
Fifteen persons belonging to a family of Mukandpur village near Dehlon were killed and five children of the same family were seriously injured when a Trax jeep they were travelling in, rammed into the rear of a truck, allegedly parked negligently on the G.T. Road near Chachrari village, 2 km from here, this morning.
The victims were on the way to Amritsar for a religious trip. The driver, Sukhwinder Singh of Bhutta village near Rarra Sahib in Ludhiana, was also a distant relative of the family.
The accident took place around 4:30 a.m. when the driver of the jeep could not clearly see the parked truck from a distance and crashed into it. The truck was parked wrong with half of it outside the parking line. The police is trying to find out if the accident took place while overtaking another vehicle from the left side or if the jeep driver was sleepy.
The deceased included seven women and four children. They were all sons, daughters-in-law or grandchildren of Ajaib Singh, a farmer. The victims were rushed to the Civil Hospital, Phillaur, where 15 were declared dead while the 5 seriously injured children were referred to DMC Hospital, Ludhiana.
The deceased have been identified by Jang Bahadur, sarpanch of Mukandpur village. The worst hit was the family of Baljit Singh, the eldest son of Ajaib Singh. Apart from Baljit Singh (52), his wife Paramjit Kaur (50), son Gurbhinder Singh (25), Gurbhinder’s wife Gagandeep Kaur and granddaughter Gurleen Kaur died in the accident.
The other deceased are Balwinder Singh and Prabhjot Kaur, children of Kulwant Singh, the second son of Ajaib Singh, and Bhinder Singh (10), Rajwinder Kaur and Sukhwinder Kaur, son, daughter and wife, respectively, of Baldev Singh, another son of Ajaib Singh and his daughter-in-law Jarnail Kaur.
Ajaib Singh’s close relatives, Charanjit Kaur and Ramandeep Singh, also died. Those admitted in DMC Hospital are Mandeep Kaur (18), Kala (16),
Majot Singh (1), Aman (8) and Jugraj (6). They are in a serious condition
It was a heart-rending site at the Civil Hospital when Ajaib Singh and his relatives, besides residents of Mukandpur village, reached there.
The impact of the collision was so strong that all 15 died on the spot. Three bodies were stuck badly in the mangled front part of the vehicle.
The truck received only minor damage.
Those sitting on a mat in the rear side of the jeep died of head injuries, broken neck and multiple fractures.
The SP (Operations) Jalandhar, Mr Opinder Singh, and the DSP Manjit Singh Dhesi, said a case had been registered against the truck driver who was absconding.
The truck loaded with coils had been parked after it developed some snag. However, the driver did not put any warning sign for motorists.
The night patrol or the national highway patrol also did not spot the wrongly parked truck.
The Phillaur SDM who visited the Civil Hospital said Rs 10,000 each had been given to the victims.
