11-year-old killed in tractor accident in Mohali; family blocks NH-21 in protest

Relatives accused authorities of delaying assistance. Shaurya’s uncle, Sandeep, said they repeatedly called the police and ambulance after the accident but no help reached for nearly an hour. Eventually, when police arrived, the child was taken in a PCR vehicle to Civil Hospital in Phase 6, where doctors declared him dead.

Angered by the incident, family members carried the child’s body to the NH-21 near the Phase 6 light point and staged a protest by placing the body on the road, blocking traffic. During the protest, some relatives and local residents lay down in front of vehicles and raised slogans against the administration. They demanded that the tractor driver be arrested and brought before them. The blockade caused a massive traffic jam for nearly one and a half hours, affecting commuters along a stretch of about two kilometres between Phase 6 and Balongi. Several vehicles remained stranded on the highway, causing inconvenience to travellers.

After receiving information about the highway blockade, the SHOs of Phase 1 and Balongi police stations reached the spot along with their teams and tried to pacify the protesting family members. Following police assurances, the protest was called off and the body was removed from the road. The body was later sent to the Civil Hospital in Kharar for postmortem.

Providing details, Balongi Police Station SHO Perry Winkle Grewal said that a case has been registered against the tractor driver and the accused has been arrested. The tractor involved in the accident has also been seized, and further legal action is underway. The body will be handed over to the family after the postmortem, he added.