‘They were just so happy…’: On their way back from daughter’s wedding, couple killed in Ludhiana car crash

Inspector Gurmukh Singh, SHO, Sahnewal Police Station, said the Innova in which the family was travelling crashed into a truck ahead of them after its driver suddenly applied the brakes. The incident happened near Khakat village. The truck driver has been booked, and has been absconding, said Singh.

The police said Ashok Nanda’s younger brother Mohan Kumar Nanda was driving the vehicle at the time.

They said Ashok, Kiran, and their relative Renu Bala, 62, died while undergoing treatment at Ludhiana’s SPS Hospital. They added Mohan Nanda and his wife, Sharmili Nanda, continue to be in critical condition, and are on ventilator support.

‘They were just so happy, discussed post-wedding rituals’

Ashok and Mohan own Nanda Motors, a motorcycle showroom in Sirhind.

Ashok and Kiran are survived by two younger children: a daughter, Nikita, and a son, Sarath. Both of them are students.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Kiran’s brother Naresh Kumar Arora said the family was returning to Sirhind after Gazal’s bidaai. “The marriage was organised in Ludhiana as the groom’s family was from Jalandhar and Ludhiana was a central point,” said the relative.

He said his niece, Gazal, and her husband are doctors.

“My sister Kiran and brother-in-law Ashok were just so happy after the marriage. They told our aunt Renu Bala to sit in their car as they wanted to discuss post-wedding rituals. They were discussing the gifts they would give to Gazal and her husband when she would come home for pad phera (the first visit after the wedding). But the happiness has turned into a tragedy for us. We are shocked,” said Arora.

Arora said Gazal is in a state of shock.

“She was yet to reach her new home in Jalandhar when the tragedy struck, and they had to take a U-turn. She attended her parents’ cremation today in Sirhind as a newly wedded-bride. The tragedy has made her so mature in just a day. After the cremation, she said she will take care of her younger siblings, Nikita and Sarth,” said Arora, with a lump in his throat.

The police lodged the First Information Report (FIR) based on Arora’s statement. Arora said he was in a car behind the Innova when the accident took place. “The truck driver was driving in a zig-zag manner. He probably was sleepy,” said Arora.

The FIR against the unidentified truck driver has been registered under sections 285 (causing danger or obstruction in a public way), 106 (causing death by rash or negligent act), 324(5) (committing mischief and causing damage of Rs 1 lakh or more) and 125 (b) (acts endangering human life or personal safety) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Sahnewal Police Station.