Jagraon: Brother-sister killed by overloaded truck; police arrest accused driver

January 1, 2026

Police have arrested the truck driver in connection with the death of two young children in Jagraon on Wednesday morning, when an overloaded truck carrying gravel overturned on Sidhwan Bet Road. The accused has been identified as Pawandeep Singh, a resident of Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar, Kachehri Chowk Road, Barnala. Police will present the accused in court for further questioning.

The overloaded truck, carrying gravel from the Sutlej River, went out of control early Wednesday morning on Sidhwan Bet Road and overturned onto a roadside shanty. Four children were sleeping inside the shanty. The gravel fell directly on the children, burying Gopal and Pinky. The children lay trapped under the gravel for about two hours, but neither the authorities nor an ambulance arrived. The most shameful aspect was that instead of showing any humanity, the truck driver broke the truck’s windshield and fled the scene after the accident.

The children’s father, Sadasukh, frantically tried to rescue his children. Their mother, Sakina,’s cries echoed on the road. Laborers selling peanuts by the roadside and workers from a nearby cold storage facility worked together for about two hours to remove the gravel, but by then, both children had succumbed to their injuries.

Sadasukh had always longed for a daughter. God had given him three sons. After the birth of his third son, Gopal, he adopted his brother’s daughter, Pinky, legally making her his daughter and embracing her wholeheartedly. Happiness returned to their home, but the indifference of the system buried that happiness under a pile of gravel.