Phagwara road mishap: Unaware of deaths, mother kept praying for her family’s safety

For the whole day, Asha Devi kept praying for the safety of her family members, not knowing these were going unheard. Her son Surinder, meanwhile, is battling for life in hospital.
Ludhiana  : Asha Devi, mother of Surinder Kumar Bajaj, 35, whose car met with an accident on the Phagwara-Hoshiarpur highway on Sunday morning, lost consciousness, after bodies of her daughter-in-law Rina, 32, and grandsons Raghav, 10, and Madhav, 8, reached Ludhiana on Sunday evening.
The relatives had been concealing the news of their deaths after the accident took place in the morning. The mother was told that the victims had suffered injuries and were hospitalised.
For the whole day, Asha Devi kept praying for the safety of her family members, not knowing these were going unheard. Her son Surinder, meanwhile, is battling for life in hospital.
Surinder resides and has a garments shop in New Puneet Nagar on Tajpur Road. One of the area residents, Rajinder Kumar, happened to be passing by the accident spot, and informed others.
As soon as the news of the mishap reached the area, shopkeepers closed their establishments. A pall of gloom descended on the area, as people rushed to his house to pay their condolence.
Surinder’s relatives said he is very religious and used to visit Mata Chintpurni temple in Himachal Pradesh every month. He was returning from there when his Renault Kwid car, bought just eight months ago, met with the accident. Raghav and Madhav were also following in their father’s footsteps and were deeply religious even at a young age, said a relative. Both brothers studied at BCM Senior Secondary School, Chandigarh Road.
Rina’s sister Shika, 30, and her husband, Vikas Kumar, 35, also died in the accident. Their eight-month-old daughter Jiwika suffered severe head injuries and has been referred to Ludhiana for treatment. A resident of Subhash Nagar, Vikas owned a grocery shop.