Panjab University scholar among 3 killed in Mohali road accident

Three youngsters, including a woman, were killed and one suffered serious injuries after their speeding Maruti Ertiga met with an accident near Boothgarh light point on Siswan road in Mohali district on Sunday night.

Police said the seven-seater vehicle was left completely mangled after the accident. They are yet to ascertain if the vehicle rammed into a divider or was hit by a heavy vehicle when the accident occurred around 11.30pm.

The deceased were identified as Shubham Jattwal, who is a PhD scholar in the forensic science department of Panjab University (PU) and a resident of Boys Hostel number 3; Saurabh Panday, who graduated from PU’s human genome department in 2023 and was associated with the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh; and Rubina, who was working independently.

Maanvendra Singh, another research scholar from PU’s forensic science department, was seriously injured and is undergoing treatment at PGIMER, Chandigarh.

According to the police, the victims were heading to Kurali from Chandigarh to pick up their friend when the accident occurred.

“They were driving at 120 kmph and it seems that the driver of the vehicle could not slow down and lost balance after the car took a jump due to the speedbreaker at the Boothgarh light point. We are also checking if they were hit by some other vehicle,” an investigator said.

The bodies have been kept in the mortuary of the civil hospital in Phase-6, Mohali.

The police said they will register a case and initiate inquest proceedings after recording the statement of the lone survivor.