A speeding truck claimed the lives of two young factory workers in a hit-and-run accident near Ganpati Chowk, Dhandhari, on Sunday night.
The victims, Ankush Bharti, 27, of Jamalpur, and Navjot Singh, 19, of Lohara, Giaspura, worked in the same factory at Phase 6, Focal Point, along with Navjot’s father.
Ankush hailed from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh and was living in Ludhiana with his brother in a rented accommodation at Jamalpur.
“The youths were on night duty from 8pm on Sunday. Around 9.40pm, they left the factory on a motorcycle to get something from the nearby market. While Ankush was riding the motorcycle, Navjot was sitting on the pillion seat. As they reached near Ganpati Chowk, a speeding truck hit their two-wheeler head on and dragged the duo for at least 50 metres, before speeding off,” said ASI Dharampal Sharma from Focal Point police station.
The collision killed Navjot on the spot, while Ankush died on the way to the hospital.
{{/usCountry}}The collision killed Navjot on the spot, while Ankush died on the way to the hospital.
{{/usCountry}}The ASI said they had booked the unidentified truck driver under Sections 279 (rash driving) and 304-A (causing death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code. Police are scanning CCTV cameras installed in the area to identify the driver.
The bodies were handed over to the families following autopsies at the civil hospital. While Navjot was cremated on Monday, Ankush’s family took his body to Kangra.
Only brother of two sisters
Navjot Singh was the only son of his parents, who also have two daughters, Ramanjot Kaur, 14, and Arshdeep Kaur, 10, students of Classes 9 and 5, respectively.
His father, Jagtar Singh, said they had recently renovated their house and built separate rooms for their three children. “The children were busy decorating their rooms before a prayer ceremony, but fate played a cruel joke on us,” said Jagtar.