Accident victim’s kin block road

Our Correspondent

Patiala, March 22

Family members of Harinder Singh, who was killed in the accident after being hit by a bus of Ryan International School here yesterday, blocked the Sirhind-Patiala road for around two hours today. The protesters placed the body on the road and were demanding compensation for the victim’s family and speedy police action in the case.

At around 11 in the morning, the protesters blocked the Sirhind-Rajpura bypass, and after sometime, they shifted their protest to the Sirhind road.

The police van ferrying Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF) chief Harminder Singh Mintoo, militant infamous for the Nabha jailbreak incident, also trapped in the traffic jam caused by the protesters for almost 20 minutes. The protesters also alleged that the Investigating Officer (IO) misbehaved with them when they went to the police station to inquire the status of the case.

Nirmal Singh, son of the deceased, said “Some of our relatives and friends went to the Urban Estate police station to know the status of the case. When they reached the police station, they found the school bus missing, and when our relatives enquired about the matter, IO Kulvir Singh misbehaved with them. The IO also insulted them and said he would give bail to the accused driver within 30 minutes of the arrest.”

After the alleged misbehaviour by the police official, the protesters staged a protest by keeping the body on the road. They also demanded compensation for the family as the deceased was the only earning hand of the family.

The case was registered under Sections 279 (rash driving) and 304 A (causing death by negligence) at the Patiala Urban Estate police station.

Meanwhile, IO Kulvir Singh refuted the allegations and said “We have already arrested the accused driver in the case and also impounded the bus. I never misbehaved with anybody and action has been taken as per law.”

The SSP Patiala said he was unaware of the incident and would take appropriate action if the allegations were proved.

On the other hand, Patiala DC Kumar Amit said “The kin had been pressing for compensation as they lost their lone bread-earner of the family. The case has been forwarded to the state government for the compensation and the government will finalise their plea and amount of the compensation.”

The case

On Tuesday, a bus of Ryan International School here hit the resident of Aman Nagar, resulting in his death. Harinder Singh (50), a welder at local Darshan Nagar, died in the accident. He was going on his bicycle on Tuesday morning when the school van hit him, resulting in serious injuries. He was rushed to Rajindra Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The unidentified driver of the bus fled from the spot with the vehicle.