CHANDIGARH: Three Kanwariyas (devotees of Lord Shiva) were killed and another was seriously injured after a speeding vehicle hit them on the Sirhind GT Road near Dada Motors in the wee hours of Sunday in Fatehgarh Sahib district of Punjab.
Sources said the accident took place around 2.15 am when a group of six Kanwariyas from Kotkapura were returning home after bringing holy water from Gangotri in Uttarakhand. They were walking along the national highway when a speeding vehicle allegedly hit four of them from behind.
Three of the Kanwariyas died on the spot, while another, identified as Mukesh Kumar, was seriously injured. They were rushed to the Civil Hospital in Fatehgarh Sahib, where doctors declared the three dead.
The deceased were identified as Mahinder Pal alias Gagan (43), a resident of Parshuram Nagar in Kotkapura; Deepak Kumar (42), a resident of Kotkapura; and Jagdish Mittal alias Kalu (40), a resident of Dr Harpal Street in Kotkapura, Faridkot district.
Assistant Sub-Inspector Tilak Raj of the Sirhind police station, who is investigating the case, said the probe was underway.
A case has been registered in connection with the accident. Police have recovered the vehicle's registration plate and are trying to trace the vehicle and its driver, who fled the spot after the accident.
Meanwhile, some people, including other Kanwariyas, staged a sit-in protest at the spot, demanding the immediate arrest of the driver.
