Sunday morning on the Lehragaga–Jakhal road near Alisher village, a speeding car struck a group of 20 labourers working under the Viksit Bharat Guarantee Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission Gramin scheme. The impact left eight workers dead on the spot and 12 wounded, according to Sangrur Deputy Commissioner Poonamdeep Kaur. The driver abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene, leaving the bodies exposed to the heat.
A factory worker who arrived after the crash accused the ambulance service of a nearly hour‑long delay. He said that despite repeated calls, the first ambulance only reached the site after 60 minutes, forcing several injured to be transported in canters. The delay, he alleged, contributed to the deaths of the workers, many of whom came from economically disadvantaged families.
In response, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann announced a Rs 2 lakh compensation package for each deceased worker’s family and pledged coverage of treatment costs for the injured. Mann also vowed that the absconding driver would be arrested soon and that strict action would be taken. Cabinet Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema echoed the CM’s statements, while Congress MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring called for immediate medical aid and accountability.
Police have opened a case against the driver, who is being tracked through CCTV footage from nearby villages. The Sangrur police intelligence unit is coordinating with the state transport department to locate the vehicle. An arrest is expected within 48 hours, after which the driver will face charges under the Motor Vehicles Act for causing death and injury.
One of the victims, a 32‑year‑old farmer from Bhadour, was found with a broken leg and a fractured skull; his wife is currently staying at a local hospital, waiting for her husband’s body to be returned for burial. Families at the scene were seen crying, underscoring the tragedy’s personal toll on the community.