Excelsior Correspondent
KATHUA, Feb 9: After returning from cremation ground at the bank of river Tarnah at Dayala Chak, two persons were crushed to death by a speeding truck and two others were injured on Jammu-Pathankot National Highway this afternoon.
Reports said that the mishap took place at around 1.45 pm when the villagers were returning from the cremation of one Varinder Singh, resident of Dayala Chak who was also injured in road accident some time back and died in Ludhiana hospital yesterday. As the members of funeral procession were returning from the river bank after the cremation and moving along the road side, a speeding truck number PB6L/2697, coming from Pathankot side first hit a Scooty and crushed the arm of a villager then he hit a tipper moving ahead and then a WagonR moving ahead on the highway. The WagonR also turned turtle with the impact of collision and lone occupant was injured.
Thereafter, the truck moved the extreme left side of the road and crushed to death two members of the funeral party on the spot. At least a dozen others ran for the safety and had miraculous escape. The truck driver jumped away from the vehicle and escaped towards the river. Some people chased him but he managed to slip away from their reach. A large number of people gathered on the spot and the police party from Dayala Chak police post and from Hiranagar Police Station also reached there.
The dead bodies trapped under the wheels could be removed only around 4.15 pm, after police managed to get recovery van and remove them to Hiranagar hospital. The movement of traffic also remained disrupted there for about two hours. After postmortem they were handed over to the families. The deceased were later identified as Jagjit Singh Bholi (43), son of Rampal, resident of Dayala Chak and Balwant Singh (45), son of Girdhari Lal, resident of Dayala Chak.
The other seriously injured villager was identified as Romesh Kumar, son of Krishan Lal, resident of Mela village. He was travelling on a scooty. His arm was badly fractured and injured. He was thrown away by the truck. Manohar Lal Shastri from Dayala Chak, whose Maruti WagonR (JK08AC/3479) was over turned after being hit by truck and tipper was also injured and hospitalized. The tipper driver and cleaner however, survived with minor injuries.
The police seized the truck and registered a case in this connection. They also launched manhunt for absconding driver. The truck was moving towards Jammu.
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