Two men were killed and three others were critically injured on Monday after the car they were travelling in crashed into another vehicle and hit a divider on the Delhi-Jaipur highway near Sidharawali village in Bilaspur.

The police said the victims, some of whom were students of Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi, were on their way to Jaipur from Delhi for a day-long excursion.

According to the police, the incident took place around 1.30am on Monday. The deceased have been identified as Ainan Khan, 19, a student of a school run by Jamia Millia Islamia, and Chetan Gupta, 19, who was involved in his family business. Both Ainan and Chetan were seated in front of the car, though the police could not immediately confirm who was driving the vehicle. The police identified the three injured as Kshitij Jain, Adnan Khan and Jamal Faizee — aged between 19 and 21 — who sustained multiple fractures and were admitted to different hospitals in Delhi. One of the victims underwent a neurological surgery at a private hospital on Tuesday evening, while the other two were said to be stable. The police are yet to record their statements.

Rajender, station house officer (SHO), Bilaspur police station, said that preliminary probe has revealed that the victims — all residents of Delhi — were on their way to Jaipur in Rajasthan for a trip. “Their car, a Tiago, was speeding and had reached near Sidhrawali village on the highway, when the car in front of them allegedly slowed down and came in their way. The driver could not steer out of the way in time and ended up hitting the vehicle in front. The car spun due to impact before ramming into the road divider,” said SHO.

The police said all the five men were taken to a private hospital in Bilaspur in police vehicles. Ramesh Kumar, assistant sub-inspector, who was stationed a few metres from the crash spot, said two of the victims — Chetan and Ainan — were referred to Rockland Hospital in IMT Manesar, where they died during treatment. The other victims were given first-aid in Bilaspur.

“The front of the car was completely mangled and the doors were jammed. We borrowed steel rods from some truck drivers and used them to open the doors. The mobile phones of the victims had a lock. One of them regained consciousness and shared the number of his sister and we informed their respective family members,” said ASI Kumar.

The police said the accused driver of the unidentified vehicle was yet to be identified or traced. A police official privy to the investigation, said the victims had watched an IPL match on television on Sunday, before setting off towards Jaipur. The police are yet to find from where the five had started their journey in Delhi, officials said.

The bodies of the victims were handed over to their families after the post-mortem examination on Tuesday. The police said the victims used to study at the same school in Delhi. While Ainan was a resident of Jamia Nagar, Chetan was from Rajender Nagar. Jamal is from Zakir Nagar and Kshitij stays in Subash Nagar. Police are yet to figure where Adnan lives in Delhi. A case has been registered against the accused driver under Sections 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by endangering life) and 304-A (death by negligence) of the IPC at Bilaspur police station.

First Published: Apr 24, 2019 01:04 IST