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Sangrur mishap: Protesting kin stage sit-in, refuse last rites
Eight workers, including six women, were killed and 12 others sustained injuries after a car ran them over on a stretch of the Lehragaga-Jakhal road in Sangrur on Sunday
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A day after the road accident in Lehragaga, Sangrur, which claimed the lives of eight workers, the police have booked the car driver, identified as Pargat Singh of Raidharana village. He faces charges under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 117(2) (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), and 324(4) (mischief causing property damage) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Eight workers, including six women, were killed and 12 others sustained injuries after a car ran them over on a stretch of the Lehragaga-Jakhal road in Sangrur on Sunday.
The incident took place near Alisher village, where a group of more than 20 workers enrolled under Viksit Bharat Guarantee Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin (earlier called MGNREGA) were engaged in work. Some of them were sitting along the road when a speeding car mowed them down, police said.
According to the FIR, the accident occurred around 3.40pm on Sunday when the driver lost control of the vehicle and plowed into a group of labourers on the roadside. The complaint states that the accused stepped out of the car visibly under the influence of drugs. As the complainant rushed to aid the injured victims, the driver fled the scene.
Sangrur senior superintendent of police Ravjot Grewal and deputy commissioner Punamdeep Kaur met the families of the deceased.
Superintendent of police Palwinder Singh Cheema stated that all required tests would be conducted according to the SOP.
Families seek adequate compensation, govt jobs
Refusing to perform the last rites, the victims’ families demanded compensation and government jobs. Local villagers joined protesters in a sit-in at the accident site.
Family members stated that as many of the victims were the sole earners, their children are now left with no means of support. The families also turned down the ₹2 lakh compensation announced by chief minister Bhagwant Mann, calling the amount inadequate.
The families and local union members demanded ₹50 lakh compensation and a government job for each deceased worker’s family, along with ₹20 lakh compensation for the injured.
The protesters added that the sit-in protest will continue and the last rites will not be performed until all demands are met.
“All her children are crying, we deserve justice,” said Sinder Pal Kaur, whose sister died. “The administration isn’t handling anything properly. If an ambulance had arrived on time, the victims would have been saved,” she said.
Cabinet ministers meet injured
Cabinet ministers Barinder Kumar Goyal and Harpal Singh Cheema met the injured.
Cheema said the injured were undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital, Sangrur, and Government Rajindra Hospital, Patiala. He said their condition was stable, and medical teams were monitoring their health.
Goyal directed the administration to ensure that the injured received all necessary medical care.
Ambulances took an hour to reach, allege locals
However, locals alleged that ambulances took nearly an hour to reach the mishap site, while relatives claimed that government healthcare facilities in Lehra and Sangrur lacked basic equipment, showing family members holding IV drip bags manually.
Sangrur civil surgeon Amarjit Kaur denied the allegations stating that three ambulances with doctors were dispatched from the nearest stations. Regarding the facilities, Kaur stated that emergency cases occasionally required operational adjustments, which were managed effectively.
