After double blow, family avoids looking at school bus

As routine on March 4, Jaswinder Singh put his sons, Jaskaran (6) and Sukhman (5), on the school bus of Akal Academy and waved at the boys until the bus was out of sight.

As routine on March 4, Jaswinder Singh put his sons, Jaskaran (6) and Sukhman (5), on the school bus of Akal Academy and waved at the boys until the bus was out of sight.

HT Image

Half an hour later, news reached the village that the bus had hit a truck on the national highway-71. Jaswinder Singh and his wife, Jaswinder Kaur, got to the spot and found their wards covered in blood. "We took them to the nearest hospital but it was too late," said Jaswinder Singh, breaking down.

"Tiffins, water bottles, school bags and bloodstained shoes were scattered at the accident scene and people were busy moving injured to the Nakodar Civil Hospitals," recalled Jaswinder, and the couple remained still for at least half an hour.

Both children were Jaswinder's sons but his NRI brother, Narinder Singh, had adopted Sukhman after the death of his only son at birth. He did not have a child later in 11 years of marriage with the sister of Jaswinder Kaur.