Ambulance Carrying Subedar Major Satyawan Singh’s Body Crashes on Purvanchal Expressway, Killing Son, Brother and Nephew

The family of Subedar Major Satyawan Singh suffered a second tragedy on Sunday morning when an ambulance carrying his mortal remains from Panchkula to his native Deoria crashed into a stationary truck on the Purvanchal Expressway in Sultanpur district, killing four people, including his only son, elder brother and a nephew.

The accident took place at around 8.15 am near Haliyapur, on the Ayodhya–Sultanpur border, close to kilometre marker 79.6. According to police, the ambulance went out of control and hit a truck parked on the roadside. The front portion of the vehicle was badly mangled in the impact.

The deceased were identified as Gaurav Singh, 18, the Subedar Major’s only son; Ram Samujh, his elder brother; Rajan, a relative described as his nephew; and ambulance driver Jaspal. Gaurav Singh and Jaspal were seated in the front and died on the spot. Jaspal’s body was trapped in the wreckage and had to be removed with a gas cutter. Ram Samujh and Rajan were taken to a government hospital in Ayodhya, where they later died during treatment.

There were some discrepancies in initial agency reports, including differences in the ages of the deceased and the relationship between Ram Samujh and Rajan. Local reports, including The Times of India and Navbharat Times, identified Ram Samujh as the elder brother and Rajan as the nephew, and said Gaurav Singh was 18.

Subedar Major Satyawan Singh, a resident of Galiya Dudhaila village in the Rudrapur area of Deoria district, was serving in the Army and had been posted in Meerut. He had been under treatment at the Command Hospital in Chandigarh after a kidney transplant and died in Panchkula three days before the road accident. He was not reported to have died in an operational incident.

After his death, Satyawan Singh’s brother, nephew and son had travelled to Panchkula to bring back his body. They left at about 4 pm on Saturday in the ambulance, while other family members followed in another vehicle. A preliminary inquiry suggests the driver may have fallen asleep. Witnesses told police that the ambulance appeared to be moving at high speed before losing control. Police are also examining CCTV footage from the stretch.

Teams rushed to the spot after alerts from passers-by and Dial 112. The bodies were taken into custody for post-mortem examination. Sultanpur District Magistrate Indrajeet Singh and Superintendent of Police Vineet Jaiswal visited the site.

The mortal remains of Subedar Major Satyawan Singh were kept with due respect at Haliyapur police station while arrangements were made to hand them over to the family. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took note of the crash, expressed grief and directed officials to expedite relief and assist the bereaved family.

The family, already on the road home with the Subedar Major’s body, has now lost its only son and two other male relatives in the same journey.