CHANDIGARH: Three elderly women from Mansa were run over by a dumper truck near the farmers’ protest site on the Tikri-Bahadurgarh border, and two others were injured early morning on October 28. They had just returned from the farmers’ protest, few days ago.
Sources said that the accident took place around 5.45 am when a group of women were sitting on a divider on the Jhajjar road, waiting for an auto-rickshaw to the railway station at Bahadurgarh to catch the train back to Mansa.
When the speeding dumper truck hit them, two of them died on the spot and the third one succumbed to her injuries at Civil Hospital in Bahadurgarh.
The deceased have been identified as Chhinder Kaur (60), Amarjeet Kaur (58) and Gurmel Kaur (60) who hailed from Kheeva Dyaluwala village in Mansa.
Of the two injured women one has been referred to the PGI at Rohtak.
The driver of the dumper fled away from the spot after the accident but he was later arrested by Haryana Police.
A police official said, “A tipper which was carrying dust rammed into the group of six women farmers early today morning thus two of them died on the spot and other woman died on way to the hospital, while two other women are reported to be out of danger. The woman were waiting for a auto-rickshaw to go to the railway station as their train was to leave at 7.45am. A case was registered and the truck driver has been arrested.’’
Smelling foul play in the accident, Shingara Singh Mann, State secretary of the BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) demanded a detailed police investigation.
Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi has announced of relief of Rs 5 lakh each for families of the deceased and free treatment for injured.
Punjab Public Works and Administrative Reforms Minister Vijay Inder Singla said: “The news from Tikri border is heart-wrenching. My heart goes out to the farmers who have been weathering all kinds of storms since the past year and have been struck with another tragedy yet again,’’ he added.
Four barricades at tikri removed
Four out of the eight layers of barricades at Tikri border have been removed by the Delhi Police today late evening.
The cement barricades are still there and thus the road remains closed for the commuters.
The farmers are protesting against the three central farm laws at the border for last 11 months.
The development comes two days back Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Haryana Rajeev Arora and Haryana DGP PK Agrawal with other officials Tikri border and held a meeting with industrialists and farmers.
The farmers told them that the border had been sealed by the Delhi Police.