Ex-serviceman, wife killed in mishap on Amritsar-Pathankot highway

Two school students, who were inside the bus, were also injured, but are stable; incident took place on the Amritsar-Pathankot national highway near Soyian village on Tuesday morning.

An ex-serviceman and his wife were killed after their car had a head-on collision with a school bus on the Amritsar-Pathankot national highway near Soyian village on Tuesday morning.

Police said the couple was heading to Jammu in their Maruti Suzuki Alto car (JK-11-C-1695) when the incident took place. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The deceased were identified as Narinderpal Singh, 46, and Gurpreet Kaur, 45, of Rajouri district of Jammu. Two students, identified as Arveen and Akashdeep Singh, who were inside the bus, received minor injuries in the incident.

Police said the couple was heading to Jammu in their Maruti Suzuki Alto car (JK-11-C-1695). When they reached near Soyian village, a school bus that was coming from the opposite side careened to the wrong side of the road and rammed into their car.

“Narinderpal died on the spot while his wife was declared brought dead at a private hospital,” said assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Naresh Kumar. He further informed that the two injured students are stable and undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

The ASI said preliminary investigation suggests the bus driver, Ravel Singh, was not following the traffic rules. “We have registered a case under Section 304 A (death by negligence) against the driver and school management,” he added. The ASI said most of the children travelling in the bus were students of class 11 and 12.