Five killed, one critical as Thar crashes into divider on Delhi-Jaipur Expressway

Between 4.30 and 4.45 am, as the SUV approached the exit near Jharsa Chowk, CCTV footage captured it allegedly speeding at over 100 kmph and losing control. Police said the driver attempted to brake while taking the turn for the exit, but it was too late — the Thar collided head-on with a divider and flipped multiple times.

Four of the six occupants died on the spot: Pratishtha Mishra (25) from Raebareli; Aditya Pratap Singh (24) from Agra; Gautam (31) from Sonepat who was living in Greater Noida; and Aditi Soni alias Jyoti (21) from Delhi.

Lavanya (26) from Agra was declared dead after initial treatment at the hospital. The sole survivor, Kapil Sharma (28) from UP’s Bulandshahr remains in critical condition at Medanta Hospital.

The black Thar bears a Uttar Pradesh registration number. It has been impounded, and its mangled remains are currently covered and kept outside the Sector 40 police station as part of the ongoing investigation. Preliminary findings indicate that the vehicle is registered to a resident of Aligarh.

Police received information about the accident at 5.02 am through their Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) team.

“Upon arriving at the scene, officers found the Thar had hit the grille (dividing the exit/service road and main carriageway) at Jharsa Chowk. The injured were promptly transported to a private hospital via ambulance, where four people were declared dead on arrival,” a police spokesperson said.

Police said Gautam worked for a private firm, Aditya and Kapil were in an advertising business in Noida, while Pratishtha and Lavanya were LLB students in Greater Noida. Jyoti was a second-year BA student at Delhi University’s Ramanujan College. She had recently moved to Greater Noida to pursue a digital marketing course alongside her degree.

Inspector Lalit Singh, Sector 40 Station House Officer, said police used mobile phones recovered from the vehicle to contact the deceased’s families and friends to confirm their identities.

“I have been up since 5 am and so has my team,” he said.

His fellow officers were heard commiserating with families of the deceased as they started arriving at the station in the afternoon.

“Hamare parivaar mein hi koi marne jaisa hain (It feels like a death in my family),” an officer told Pratishtha’s grieving sister-in-law.

Police are yet to determine who was driving the vehicle.

The bodies of the deceased are currently at the mortuary in Civil Hospital in Sector 10, and the post-mortem will be done once they are identified by the families.

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