Three MBBS students were killed while three sustained injuries after their car allegedly rammed into a divider and caught fire on Jhajjar-Meerut National Highway in Sonepat in the early hours of Thursday, said police.

According to police, the deceased, identified as Pulkit from Narnaul, Sandesh from Rewari, and Rohit Gouriya from Gurgaon, were third-year students at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS), Rohtak.

Police said Ankit from Rohtak, Narveer Yadav from Mahendragarh, and Somvir from Jhajjar suffered serious injuries and were rushed to a hospital in Sonepat and were later referred to PGIMS Rohtak. The incident took place around 2.30 am when the six students were going from Rohtak to Haridwar.

Devender, SHO, Rai police station, said, “The road, near Bahalgarh on National Highway Meerut road, had been closed for construction work and three-foot-high boulders had been placed in the middle. The victims did not notice the boulders, and their car rammed straight into the divider and caught fire. Three students were charred to death and died on the spot. Among the injured who are undergoing treatment, the condition of one student is critical. On the complaint of the father of one of the deceased, an FIR has been lodged against the NHAI official and the company who had the tender for road work.”

In the police complaint, Rohit’s father, Jay Singh, a Gurgaon resident, said that his son and his friends were on their way to Haridwar in an i20 car. “My son and his two friends died on the spot of burns. The authorities had not put any reflector, paint or signage, or blinker lights for road diversion on the stones and boulders and the incident took place due to negligence of the NHAI project director and the company overseeing work. Action should be taken for their negligence,” Singh alleged.

Rohit’s relative, Joginder, said, “It is a tragic incident. The friends had made a plan to go to Haridwar for a holiday.”

An NHAI official, requesting anonymity, said, “The incident is very unfortunate. One part of the carriageway had been closed due to construction work and after recent rainfall, another part was closed as a safety measure since a high tension wire runs in the area. We had put up reflector tape, and a board informing the commuters of the diversion and construction work had been installed near the slip road exit over 150 metres before the flyover.”

Police said the bodies were handed over to the families of the deceased on Thursday. An FIR was registered under IPC sections 283 (danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304-A (death by negligence) at Rai police station in Sonepat, said police.

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