City resident dies in car-truck collision

Our Correspondent

Zirakpur, February 18

Two youths, who worked at a private firm, were killed when the car in which they were travelling in collided with a speeding truck on the Patiala-Zirakpur road, near the Chhat traffic lights, today.

The deceased have been identified as Vaneet Dhir (38) of Ludhiana and Munish Kashyap (30) of Amritsar. Both of them were residing in Zirakpur.

Dhir was putting up at Green Park Colony in Zirakpur. He has left behind his wife and a 10-year-old son, while Kashyap, who lived at the Royale Estate society in Zirakpur, is survived by his wife and a year-and-a-half old daughter.

The police said Dhir worked as marketing manager in Manan Textech Global Private Ltd. Kashyap also worked in the same firm. Eyewitnesses said the impact of the collision was such that the front portion of the car was badly mangled, killing both occupants instantly. The truck driver fled the spot. Commuters were shocked to see one of the bodies dangling from the window next to the driver’s seat. 

The police said the bodies of Dhir, who was reportedly driving the car, and Munish were extricated with great difficulty from the mangled remains of the car.  The incident occurred around 1.45 am, when both friends were going towards Zirakpur from Ludhiana side via Rajpura. When they reached near the Chhat traffic lights, a truck (PB-11BN-7035), coming from Dera Bassi reportedly hit the car. A passerby informed the police and a PCR reached the spot.

The truck driver has been booked under Sections 304-A (causing death by negligence), 279 (rash driving) and 427 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) on a complaint lodged by the deceased’s brother-in-law. Meanwhile, the police handed over the bodies of the deceased to their families after post-mortem conducted at Civil Hospital, Dera Bassi.