Holi homecoming ends in tragedy: Mother and daughter killed as car they were travelling rams into truck in East Delhi’s Ghazipur

According to the police, the accident occurred close to 6:10 am on Thursday. A PCR call was received at Ghazipur police station at around 6:43 am. A police team immediately rushed to the spot near Vinod Nagar Depot and found a Kia Seltos badly damaged after colliding with the truck. CCTV footage showed the car making a sharp swerve towards the truck before crashing, police said.

The car was coming from the Ghaziabad side when the accident occurred, officers added. After the crash, Neelam was found lying outside the vehicle while Deepanjali was found trapped in the front left passenger seat. A disaster management agency was called to cut through the mangled metal and pull her out, police said.

On Wednesday, Deepanshu, who had recently gotten married, had travelled to Dehradun with his mother to bring his sister and nephews home as he wanted to celebrate Holi with his family.

“Deepanjali’s mother and brother came to pick her up from Dehradun and drive back to Delhi with her children,” said Gaurav Nathani, a relative.

Police said that Deepanshu and Neelam left Delhi for Dehradun at around 10 pm. They reached Dehradun at around 1:30 am and left for Delhi at around 3 am.

“They would generally leave early for Delhi from Dehradun to avoid traffic and reach home earlier. They also preferred to spend more time with the rest of the family in Delhi during the day,” said Ankit Garg, another family member.

Deepanjali’s father, Rajendra, who suffers from high blood pressure and diabetes, has not been informed of the deaths, family members said. They added that Deepanshu is wracked with guilt over the accident and having survived it.

All three injured were transferred to Max Hospital for treatment. Deepanshu suffered a broken leg injury while Vivan sustained minor injuries. Meanwhile, Vashu is still in critical care after suffering severe head injuries.

The crime team was called to the scene and conducted a detailed inspection. The bodies were transferred to the Lal Bahadur Shastri (LBS) mortuary for post-mortem examination.

Police have registered an FIR under sections 281 (rash or negligent driving), 125b (act endangering human life or the personal safety of others), and 106 (death by negligence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Further investigation is underway to ascertain the exact sequence of events and the circumstances leading to the accident, officers added.