17 December 2025 Punjab Khabarnama Bureau : Five persons, including three of a family, lost their lives in two road accidents caused by poor visibility amid fog in Barnala district over the past 24 hours.
In the first accident, a car rammed a stationary truck from behind, resulting in the deaths of Vaishali and her two-year-old daughter, Maira, residents of Tapa town. The mishap occurred near Ghunas village on the Barnala-Bathinda highway late on Monday night.
Vaishali’s husband, Manglesh Garg, a cloth merchant who was driving the car, sustained multiple injuries. He was rushed to a private hospital in Ludhiana, where his condition was reported to be critical. The family was returning to Tapa after attending a wedding in Barnala when the accident occurred.
Tapa DSP Gurpreet Singh said a case had been registered, the truck impounded and efforts were underway to arrest the truck driver.
In another incident, a BSF jawan, his cousin and a woman relative lost their lives, and six others were injured when a car and an SUV rammed into a divider at the Mallian toll plaza on the Barnala-Moga highway amid dense fog on Tuesday morning
A family from Tarn Taran district was travelling to Sirsa district in Haryana to perform the “shagun” ceremony for their daughter in a car when it rammed the divider at the toll plaza. Those died were identified as 31-year-old BSF jawan Sandeep Masih, whose sister’s shagun ceremony was scheduled for the day; 21-year-old Arshdeep Masih, Sandeep’s cousin; and 18-year-old Anu, also a relative. Two other occupants of the car got injured.
Meanwhile, four occupants of an SUV, which hit their car from behind, also got injured. All injured were taken to Civil Hospital in Barnala, and those in critical condition were referred to other hospitals.
Sandeep’s father Imanat Masih blamed the toll plaza management for not putting up any glow signboards at the spot.
Barnala SSP Mohd Sarfaraz Alam said five persons had lost their lives due to poor visibility caused by fog in the district over the past 24 hours, and advised the public to drive carefully and avoid travel during foggy conditions.
Summary:
Dense fog severely reduced visibility in Barnala, leading to multiple road accidents in different areas. The mishaps resulted in the tragic death of five people, while several others sustained injuries. Police and emergency teams reached the spots, and authorities have urged commuters to drive cautiously during foggy conditions.