On Bhagwant Mann’s assurance, family members and local residents lift four-hour blockade near Bhakra overbridge on Patiala-Samana highway. They were demanding justice for seven children and their driver, who died when their vehicle was hit by an overloaded tipper-truck on May 8.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday met protesting family members of the seven schoolchildren who died when their SUV was hit by a tipper-truck on the Patiala-Samana state highway and assured them of a probe into the May 8 accident.
Mann said that he would order a high-level probe into the plying of overloaded tipper-trucks that were being misused for illegal sand mining. “I’ve already ordered the transport and police departments to conduct a statewide drive to check the licences of truck drivers and fitness certificates of heavy vehicles. Most tipper-trucks are overloaded. I hope that the sacrifice of these children won’t go in vain, and we will unearth the nexus of illegal mining,” the chief minister said.
Asked about the involvement of an Aam Aadmi Party MLA in the business of tipper-trucks, Mann said no one would be spared even if he was an AAP legislator or worker for shielding the accused or interfering in the police investigation. The CM said that strict action would be taken against police officials, who delayed action in the case.
Following his assurance, the family members and scores of local residents lifted their four-hour blockade near Bhakra overbridge on state highway number 10 between Patiala and Samana. They were demanding justice for the seven children and their driver, who were killed when they were returning from school and their Toyota Innova was hit by an overloaded tipper-truck a month ago.The protesters alleged laxity by the civil administration and police in arresting all accused in the case.
The truck was being driven by a 19-year-old with no licence for heavy vehicles. Records showed that the truck’s fitness certificate had expired in January 2024 and its pollution certificate in July 2023, while its road tax was valid up to December 2023. In addition, the Regional Transport Authority (RTA), Yamunanagar, Haryana, had issued a challan for the truck way back in December 2022.
Though the driver was arrested, the parents of the children demanded that the truck owner, Randhir Singh, also be held accountable and sent behind bars.
Local MLA Chetan Singh Jouramajra has also been at the receiving end of protests for his alleged association with the truck owner. He has, however, denied shielding the accused.