Punjab approves Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia to eight pilgrims killed in Himachal

A day after 8 pilgrims from here were killed in a Himachal Pradesh road accident, Congress MLA Raj Kumar Verka on Saturday said the Punjab government would give Rs 2 lakh ex-gratia to the families of the pilgrims.

Verka, the legislator from Amritsar (West) constituency, also visited the families in the city.

Eight pilgrims were killed and one person was seriously injured on Friday after their car fell into a gorge about eight kilometres from Swarghat on Chandigarh-Manali national highway. The pilgrims were returning to Amritsar from Manikaran when the driver lost control over the vehicle.

Verka said the deceased were identified as Gurinder Singh, Jasbir Singh (brothers), Mandeep Singh and Sonu (brothers), Davinder Singh, Kawaljit Singh, Luvpreet Singh and Baljit Singh - all residents of Rajasansi village.

The car was returning to Amritsar from Manikaran when the driver lost control over the vehicle and it fell into the gorge, DSP Anil Sharma said, adding seven people died on the spot while one succumbed to his injuries at Nalagarh hospital. A case has been registered in the incident and the bodies have been sent to Bilaspur fore post-mortem, the officer said.