BKU (Ugrahan) demands probe into Bahadurgarh truck accident

Wants culprits arrested before cremation of three women protesters from Mansa who were camping at the Tikri protest site

The three women who were crushed to death by a truck at the farmers’ protest site on the Tikri-Bahadurgarh border on Thursday morning belonged to Khewa Dyalu village in Mansa district.

People gather at the truck accident site in Bahadurgarh on Thursday morning. Three women protesters from Mansa were killed and two others were injured in the mishap. (Manoj Dhaka/HT)

The women were activists of the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Ugrahan). BKU Mansa district president Ram Singh Bhainibagha said the victims were scheduled to return to their native village Khewa Dyalu near Bhikhi block later on Thursday.

“The women activists joined the protest site with a group of volunteers from the village on October 18. After staying for 10 days at Tikri, they were returning home today. Our union smells foul play behind the incident and wants a speedy investigation,” said Bhainibagha.

The women were frequent participants at the dharna site, he said.

The bodies of Amarjit Kaur, 51, Sukhwinder Kaur, 55, and Gurmail Kaur, 65, were kept at a government hospital in Bahadurgarh.

Another victim, Gumail Kaur, suffered serious injuries and was admitted to Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences in Rohtak, while Harjit Kaur, the second injured woman, was undergoing treatment at Bahadurgarh.

“The BKU leaders are camping at Bahadurgarh and have resolved not to conduct post-mortem until the culprit is arrested,” he said.

BKU general secretary Sukhdev Singh Kokrikalan demanded each family of the deceased should get a compensation of ₹10 lakh, complete loan waiver of the families and a government job to a member of the aggrieved family.

Meanwhile, Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi has announced a compensation of ₹5 lakh to the next of kin of each of the dead and free treatment of the injured.