Gurugram: 8th person injured in auto-truck crash dies in a hospital

GURUGRAM: One more person succumbed to injuries he suffered in an accident on the Punhana-Hodal road on Friday, taking the toll to eight so far.
The driver of the truck involved in the accident, Shakir (28), was also arrested on Saturday. On Friday evening, a CNG auto-rickshaw crammed with 12 passengers collided with a truck — and not a crane as reported earlier — and fell into a roadside ditch near Punhana. The truck, too, lost control, tilted to its side and fell on the auto, mangling it fully.
While seven passengers, including two women, died on Friday, another succumbed to his injuries on Saturday. Police said three persons were battling critical injuries — Saddam (18), Anas (6) and Aastha (2.5). They are undergoing treatment in various hospitals.
The deceased have been identified as Rahil (22), Ikramundeen (22), Rajkumari (35), Hakam (40), Ranjan (21), Reehan (18), Dharmender (24) and Lalit (24).
An FIR was lodged against the truck driver at Bichhor police station under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (whoever causes hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life) and 304 (causing death by negligence) of the IPC. The police said all the eight bodies had been handed over to the families after autopsy.
“It was raining heavily and there were potholes on the road. To avoid the craters, the truck driver took a sharp turn, lost control and collided with the auto that was anyway crammed with passengers. The auto lost its balance and fell into the ditch,” said Joginder Singh, an assistant sub-inspector Bichhor police station.