Ludhiana ISBT tragedy: One dead, 5 injured as private bus goes on rampage

ASI Mewa Singh, incharge, Kochhar Market police post, said that Vinod Paswan, 62, a native of Bihar and a current resident of Nirmal Nagar, Ludhiana, died after the bus mowed him down.

Five others received serious injuries. The injured were identified as: Gurmukh Singh, 32, of Khurani village, Sangrur; his colleague Manjit Kaur, 28, also of Sangrur; Darshan Singh, 47, of Ludhiana; Mehak, 22, and her mother Santosh Rani, of Shimlapuri, Ludhiana.

The injured were rushed to hospital in different vehicles. A heavy traffic jam was witnessed after the mishap. The police removed the vehicles with the help of a crane and restored the traffic on the busy stretch near the bus stand.

According to eyewitnesses, the bus was descending from the flyover when, instead of slowing down, the driver allegedly accelerated. The bus first struck a motorcycle carrying two riders, then ploughed into two e-rickshaws and a few pedestrians before ramming into a divider.

ASI Mewa Singh said that the reason behind the incident was not ascertained yet. “Only the medical report of the driver will confirm if he was drunk or not. He is yet to be arrested,” the ASI added.

The bus has been seized by the police, and an FIR in the case was being registered at the division number 5 police station.