3 NRIs among 4 killed in Dera Bassi mishap

Tribune News Service

Mohali, December 16

Four persons, including a four-month-old baby, were killed as two cars collided near Dera Bassi on the Chandigarh-Ambala road in the wee hours of Thursday.

The NRI victims have been identified as Harjeet Kaur Dhami (56), her daughter-in-law Sharanjeet Kaur (33) and her four-month-old grandson Ajaib Singh. Gaurav Kumar, a resident of Wadhwa Ram Colony in Panipat (Haryana), who was travelling in another car, also died in the mishap.

The accident took place around 1.30 am at Janetpur village when a recklessly driven Maruti Swift car bearing a Haryana number crossed over the median and collided with a Maruti Ertiga cab in which five NRIs from Mohali were travelling. The NRI family was returning from a family function in Faridabad.

Dera Bassi SHO Kulbir Singh said five members of the NRI family had come to India from Canada to attend a family function. He said the Swift car driver had been booked on a statement of Davinder Singh Dhami, one of the NRIs travelling in the Ertiga. He stated that on December 14, they had taken a cab from Mohali to attend a marriage function at Faridabad and met with the mishap on the way back. The complainant said the Swift car driver coming from the Chandigarh side lost control over the vehicle. After hitting the divider, the car jumped to the other side of the road and collided with their car before turning turtle, he added.

The SHO said Dhami was sitting on the front seat of the Ertiga, being driven by Amit Kumar, while his wife Harjeet Kaur, daughter-in-law Sharanjeet Kaur, granddaughter Harliv Kaur and grandson Ajaib Singh were on the backseat. All were injured in the accident and taken to a private hospital in Dera Bassi, where doctors declared Harjeet Kaur, Sharanjeet Kaur and Ajaib Singh dead. The remaining injured were referred to the PGI due to their critical condition, he added.

The police said Hritik Bhalla, a resident of Haryana, was driving the Swift car at a high speed. His relative Gaurav, who was travelling with him, also died in the accident. The Swift driver was absconding, said the police. A case has been registered against him under Sections 304-A, 279, 337, 338 and 427 of the IPC.

The bodies were handed over to the victims’ relatives after a postmortem.

How it happened

The accident took place around 1.30 am at Janetpur village on the Chandigarh-Ambala road when a recklessly driven Maruti Swift car crossed over the median and collided with a Maruti Ertiga cab in which five NRIs from Mohali were travelling. The NRI family was returning from a family function in Faridabad.

Car driver at large

The police said Hritik Bhalla, a resident of Haryana, was driving the Swift car at a high speed and lost control over the vehicle. A case has been registered against Hritik under Sections 304-A, 279, 337, 338 and 427 of the IPC. He fled from the spot after the mishap, the police said.