9 kids hurt as auto hits recovery van

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, January 9

Nine children were injured, some of them seriously, when an auto-rickshaw they were travelling in collided with a recovery van near Manawala here today. The injured, including auto-rickshaw driver Gurpreet Singh alias Gopi, were rushed to Guru Nanak Dev Hospital.

According to information, the recovery van driver overtook the auto-rickshaw and then suddenly applied brakes due to which the auto-rickshaw collided with it, leading to the mishap.

The recovery van driver, identified as Amritpal Singh of Bohru village, fled the spot. The injured were identified as Navraj Singh (5), Gurpreet Singh (3), Simranjit Kaur (11), Jashanpreet Kaur (14), Manpreet (5), Amanpreet Singh (4), Onkar Singh (9), Armaan (4) and Manpreet (6). They are all students of Golden City School at Manawala.

Parampal Singh, SSP, said preliminary probe revealed that the recovery van driver stopped in the middle of the road to purchase guavas from a roadside vendor, leading to the accident. Further investigations were underway, he said, adding that eight of the nine children had been discharged.

Meanwhile, Ajay, a relative of the auto-rickshaw driver, claimed that the recovery van stopped abruptly as the driver of a Swift car moving in front of it stopped in the middle of the road to purchase fruits from a roadside vendor. He said Gurpreet sustained injuries on his head, face and neck and his vehicle was badly damaged.