E-Paper
Five of wedding party injured as speeding truck crashes into bus in Ludhiana
There were at least 35 passengers travelling in the bus, but most were waiting outside the bus at the time; truck driver arrested; the wedding party was returning to Ludhiana from Patiala when the mishap took place
Five members of a wedding party were injured after a speeding truck hit their bus on the National Highway near Doraha on late Sunday night. There were at least 35 passengers in the bus, but most were waiting outside the bus at the time.
The condition of one of the injured persons is said to be critical.
Police have arrested the truck driver, identified as Pawan Kumar of Jhunjhunu of Rajasthan.
The FIR has been lodged on the complaint of bus driver Balwinder Singh of Mangali Khas village of Meharban in Ludhiana. He said that the groom’s family had hired the bus on Sunday to take the guests to Chhanna Kapuri village of Patiala. On their way back to Ludhiana, he stopped the bus near Kashmir Palace in Doraha as a guest wanted to answer the nature’s call.
As the driver was waiting for the passenger board the bus, a speeding truck, coming from Khanna side, rammed into it. He added that the impact of the collision was so strong that the bus jumped the divider and crashed into an electricity pole on the other side before falling into a pit. The truck too rolled into the pit.
The driver added that most guests had de-boarded the bus when the mishap took place, otherwise the situation could have been worse. The rescue operation was initiated by passersby.
Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Hardam Singh, the investigating officer, said a case under Sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (rash or negligent act endangering human life), 338 and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of Indian Penal Code has been registered against the accused truck driver. Police have also seized the vehicles.
