Rickshaw-puller dies as truck rams into booth

Mohali, July 21
A rickshaw-puller was killed and two others were seriously injured when a speeding Verka truck rammed into a booth at the parking lot of the Phase V market this morning.

The incident occurred at around 4.15 am. Amarjit Singh (40), a rickshaw-puller from Gopalganj, Bihar, died on the spot while two persons, Birbal, aka Bijli, and Saurav Kumar from Dhanas, Chandigarh, received serious injuries. Truck driver Sanjay Kumar fled from the spot after the accident and is at large.

Amarjit and Bijli were sleeping near the booth while Saurav was driving his auto-rickshaw. The truck first hit the auto-rickshaw and then rammed into the booth.

“The truck was coming from the wrong side when it went out of control and hit the auto-rickshaw. It broke the railing and rammed into the booth,” said the police. The impact was so strong that the entire booth was destroyed. Both Amarjit Singh and Bijli were found buried under the debris. Bijli and Saurav, who received serious injuries, were shifted to different hospitals in Chandigarh in a critical condition.

The police said the truck was on its way from the Verka plant at Phase VI to Phase XI to supply milk. The booth, Saini Communications, belonged to a physically challenged person, Hariwnder Singh, who claimed that he suffered a loss of nearly Rs 15 lakh. “I had a photostat machine, a fax machine and a number of computers in my booth, all of which have been destroyed,” said Harwinder Singh. The police have registered a case under Sections 279, 304-A, 337 and 427 of the IPC against Sanjay Kumar at the Phase I police station.