Martyred soldier's son among four killed in Purvanchal Expressway crash on way to his funeral

Four people died on the Purvanchal Expressway in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday morning when an unidentified vehicle rammed an ambulance carrying the body of martyred Subedar Major Satyawan. The dead include his son, Gaurav Singh. The son, who was to have performed the last rites for his father, died before reaching home.

The body was being taken from Chandigarh to the soldier's ancestral village of Deoria, where the cremation was to be held. Travelling in the ambulance were his son Gaurav Singh, his brother Rajan Chowdhury, his nephew Ram Samujh Singh and the driver, Jaspal. The family members were accompanying the body to the village to bid the soldier farewell.

The accident took place on the expressway in the area of Haliyapur police station in Sultanpur district. An unidentified speeding vehicle hit the ambulance from behind with great force, causing heavy damage to it.

Gaurav Singh and driver Jaspal died on the spot. Rajan Chowdhury and Ram Samujh Singh were critically injured and died during treatment. All four people in the ambulance were killed.

The ambulance carried the body of Subedar Major Satyawan, while three members of his own family and the driver lost their lives. The family has been plunged into grief. The village had been preparing to bid the soldier farewell, but gloom descended on it as soon as news of the four deaths arrived.

Police reached the spot on learning of the accident. The body of Subedar Major Satyawan was moved to a safe place. Police are searching for the unidentified vehicle that caused the crash, and further legal action in the case is under way.