3 of Kapurthala cop’s family among 4 pilgrims killed in Muktsar mishap

Four pilgrims, including three members of a cop’s family, all from Dhaliwal Dona village in Kapurthala district, were killed in a bus-car collision on Thursday morning at Bura Gujjar village on the Ferozepur road near Muktsar.

Four pilgrims, including three members of a cop’s family, all from Dhaliwal Dona village in Kapurthala district, were killed in a bus-car collision on Thursday morning at Bura Gujjar village on the Ferozepur road near Muktsar.

Relatives of Bachan Singh mourning outside their house in Dhaliwal Dona village after hearing about the accident. (HT Photo)

They were on their way to Hanumangarh in Rajasthan when the bus coming on at rash speed crashed head-on into their Tata Indigo car, which the eyewitnesses say was also going fast and trying to overtake a truck. Punjab Police constable Bachan Singh (48); his daughter, Manpreet Kaur (23), and his neighbour, Baksho (55) were killed on the spot. The policeman’s son-in-law, Raj Kumar (25), a labourer, died at Guru Gobind Singh Medical College in Faridkot.

Bachan Singh’s wife, Jaspal Kaur (45); his grandson, Yuvraj Kumar (2); and his neighbour’s son, Harjinder Singh, sustained severe injuries. Jaspal Kaur and Harjinder Singh were moved to the Faridkot medical college from Mukatsar Civil Hospital, while Yuvraj was discharged after treatment.

After the accident, bus driver Gurpreet Singh abandoned the vehicle and fled, leaving the passengers behind, some of them with minor injuries. Conductor Amritpal Singh, who was among the injured, was moved to the Muktsar Civil Hospital.

Manpreet Kaur (left) and Bachan Singh (in yellow turban) were killed on the spot while Jaspal Kaur (extreme right) sustained severe injuries in the accident.

Around 4.30am on Thursday, the cop’s family and neighbours had started for Peeran Di Dargah pilgrim spot at Hanumangarh, Rajasthan. Around 7.15am, the cop’s daughter, Kamalpreet Kaur, and her brother received the accident’s news at home.