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Panjab University scholar among 3 killed in late-night Mohali crash
Though Mohali police have yet to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the fatal accident, they have registered a case against an unidentified vehicle driver for causing it
A Panjab University scholar and his two friends, including a woman, were killed after their speeding Maruti Ertiga met with an accident near Boothgarh light-point on Siswan road in Mohali district on Sunday night.
Police said the impact of the crash, which took place around 10.30 pm, left the seven-seater vehicle completely mangled.
Though the police have yet to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the fatal accident, they have registered a case against an unidentified vehicle driver for causing it.
Police are considering various possibilities, including the vehicle ramming into a divider/wall, overturning due to high speed while navigating a speed-breaker or being hit by a heavy vehicle.
The FIR has been lodged following the complaint of Gaurav Panday, cousin of deceased Saurabh Panday, who claimed that a sand-laden tipper truck took a rash turn, causing the Ertiga driver to lose control.
The deceased were identified as Shubham Jattwal, 25, a native of Palampur in Kangra and a PhD scholar in the forensic science department of Panjab University (PU); Saurabh Panday, 26, of Maloya, Chandigarh, who graduated from PU’s human genome department in 2023 and was associated with PGIMER, Chandigarh; and Rubina, 24, of Hisar, Haryana, who police said could have been a PU alumna too.
Maanvendra Tiwari, 24, of Khudda Lahora, Chandigarh, another research scholar from PU’s forensic science department, who was driving the car, was seriously injured in the mishap. He remains under treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh.
Car was moving at 120 kmph
According to police, the victims were headed from Chandigarh towards Kurali to pick up a friend when the accident occurred.
“The car was moving at a speed of 120 kmph when the mishap took place. It seems the driver could not slow down and lost control after the car took a jump due to a speed-breaker at the Boothgarh light point. We are also checking if they were hit by some other vehicle,” an investigator said.
The bodies were moved to the mortuary of the civil hospital in Phase 6, Mohali, for autopsy and their families were informed.
Notably, road reflectors were not functional near the speed-breaker and the yellow line was not clear.
Sunil Sharma, station house officer (SHO), Majri police station, said he had written to the authorities concerned for installing adequate infrastructure in the accident-prone area.
Majri police have lodged an FIR under Sections 281(rash driving) and 106 (causing death due to negligence) of BNS.
PU forensics dept mourns death of bright researcher
A pall of gloom took over Panjab University’s Institute of Forensic Science and Criminology as the news of Shubham Jattwal’s tragic demise came in.
Shubham was pursuing a PhD, likely to be completed by 2027, under professor Shweta Sharma and receiving JRF fellowship from the University Grants Commission (UGC).
While Sharma remained unavailable for a comment, Vishal Sharma, another professor in the department, recalled Shubham’s helpful and cheerful nature. “I never directly taught him but I would always see him around. He was pursuing research in forensic toxicology related to nanoparticles,” he said.
Sharma described how Jattwal, before leaving with his friends on Sunday night, had been working on his research at night and left a chemical reaction at the lab to study it in the morning.
“A research scholar discovered his work from last night and we all broke down looking at how hard he worked even on his final day. He had been called to assist a friend in Kurali. It is a tragic turn of events,” he added.
Another research scholar from the department, Avinash described Jattwal as a brother. “We all woke up to the unfortunate news of his demise. We used to hang out together and enjoyed taking trips to Kasauli,” he said.
Avinash also spoke about Maanvendra Singh, who is pursuing research in forensic chemistry. Confirming that Maanvendra was out of danger, Avinash said, “I have known him ever since he was pursuing his masters. I used to help teach him some of the concepts.”
Students lit candles in the department, mourning the loss of the departed souls. PU is also likely to hold a condolence meeting at Boys Hostel Number 3, where Jattwal used to stay.
