Punjab: 4 students of Patiala Law University killed in road accident

Four students of the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), Patiala, died early on Saturday when their speeding Ford Endeavor rammed another SUV and rammed into a tree on Bhadson Road.

Police said the four students, all in their early twenties, had just returned from a dinner party when the accident occurred at 2am, barely 50 meters from the university on the Patiala-Bhadson road.

The deceased have been identified as Reet Kaur Virk, Ishan Sood, Rishabh Sehgal and Kushagra Yadav. While Reet is the daughter of Chandigarh-based Major RS Virk (retd), Ishan is the nephew of BJP leader and former Chandigarh mayor Arun Sood.

The driver of the Ford Endeavor carrying the four victims lost control after colliding with the other SUV, an Isuzu pickup truck carrying two students. The four occupants of the Ford Endeavor died on the spot while the Isuzu pickup overturned, but the two students survived the accident.

University officials said four of the six students were final-year students and two were third-year students. They said the final examination of the academic session of the final year classes was completed on Friday.

Punjab Health Minister Dr. Balbir Singh, who reached the accident spot, appealed to the students not to drink and drive. “It appears that speeding after consuming alcohol led to the accident,” he said.

According to government sources at Rajindra Hospital and police, the parents of the deceased students refused an examination and post-mortem, following which the bodies were handed over to them.