Eight labourers engaged in road construction were killed, and several others were injured after a car ran over them on Jakhal Road near Chotian village in the Lehragaga area of Punjab’s Sangrur district.
Harvinder Singh, a worker at a nearby factory, was among the first rescuers to reach the site after hearing of the crash. “When I arrived from the factory, there were no villagers present yet, only five to six bodies lying at the spot. All of the victims are poor labourers. He made serious allegations of administrative negligence and delayed medical response, claiming that despite on-duty police officers calling for medical transport, the ambulance took nearly an hour to reach the site.
He further alleged that the accused driver managed to flee the scene approximately 15 minutes after police arrived.
He said the victims were all “MGNREGA workers”, referring to the rural job guarantee scheme now officially designated as VB G-RAM-G. Another witness said that victims lay suffering on the roadside while authorities insisted on completing “formalities” before arriving. “They died awaiting an ambulance; many of them bled to death,” he said. Police said they have initiated an investigation and are conducting raids to arrest the driver.
