Punjab: Three youngsters including a girl die as their car falls into canal in Ludhiana

LUDHIANA: Three youngsters, including a girl, have died while their one friend escaped, when their Maruti Suzuki Swift car fell into Sidhwan Canal near South City on Sunday evening. The onlookers present there rescued the youngsters and rushed them to hospital where they were declared dead. According to the victim, who escaped, an i20 car took a sudden turn due to which their car hit the i20 car and fell into the canal.
The deceased have been identified as Prabhjot Singh Lubhana, 19, Pahul Bains, 18 and Tiksha Saini, 21 of Delhi.
Their friend Rahul, 20 had jumped out of the car when it was falling into the canal, and managed to escape. According to police, Tiksha was pursuing medical internship in the city and was living in a PG in the South City area. Rahul, Pahul and Prabhjot are from Gurdaspur. Rahul is pursuing graduation whereas Prahjot and Pahul were awaiting their class 12 results.
In his statement to police, Rahul said that he was a friend of Tiksha and had come to the city to meet her with his friends in Prabhjot’s car PB06AZ7180 and Prabhjot was driving the car. We left from Gurdaspur at around 11.30AM and reached Ludhiana at around 2.30PM. They picked up Tiksha and went to a mall and spent time together. Thereafter, they were going towards the South City to drop Tiksha at her PG.
“After crossing the underpass, an i20 car which was moving ahead of our car, took a sudden turn. Our car hit the i20 car. Prabhjot could not control the car and fell into the canal from a gap between the fencing of the canal bridge. When the car was falling down, I jumped out of it and survived” he added.
The Assistant Commissioner of Police- West, Gurpreet Singh said, “The accident occurred at around 5.30PM. Rahul has given a statement that the accident occurred because of the i20 car. The police are tracing the i20 car occupants and also scanning CCTVs to know what exactly happened there.”
ACP added, the police have informed the parents of all youngsters who are on the way to Ludhiana. Further the police have kept heavy concrete blocks in the gap between the fencing from where the car fell down in the canal.