SEEKING COMPENSATION for the loss of life of his son and grandson in an accident at Banur, a 56-year-old Banur resident has filed a case in the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal (MACT) at district courts in Chandigarh against the car driver and owner of the car Abhinav Bindra, a 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medallist.
The petition for compensation has been filed by Mukhtiar Singh, father of Mangat Singh, in the court of Rajesh Sharma, seeking compensation of Rs 50 lakh on account of death of his son Mangat Singh, 32, and Rs 20 lakh on account of death of his grandson Gursewak Singh, 10. Both the victims are survived by Mukhtiar Singh, as Mangat had been separated from his wife while Mukhtiar’s wife has already died.
The application for the claim has been filed under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicle Act against Banty (driver of the offending vehicle), a resident of Firozepur, and Abhinav Bindra (owner of the offending vehicle), a resident of Mohali, and also against the Oriental Insurance Company Limited. As per the petition, Mangat Singh worked as a junk dealer and earned Rs 20,000 per month while Gursewak was a student of class II and was studying at Holy Marry Public School at Banur.
As per the petition filed by advocate C M Attri, it has been alleged that the accident occurred on March 10, 2018, when around 4.45 pm, the duo father Mangat Singh (32) and his son Gursewak Singh (10), both residents of Khizargarh village, Banur, were heading on the motorcycle (PB-11-AR-1528) from Banur to their village. While they were crossing the Banur village, on Rajpura road to Zirakpur, a rashly driven Volvo car (PB- 65-H-3049) came from Zirakpur side, driven by Banty in an uncontrollable speed, and hit the victim’s motorcycle from behind. Due to the impact of the hit, the motorcycle was dragged for around 100 metres as it stuck in the tyres of the car. The incident was witnessed by another motorcyclist, Ramdiya, who belonged to the same village of victim, who was also on the same road on his motorcycle (PB-65-AJ-8825). Due to the impact of the accident, Mangat Singh died on the spot while Gursewak suffered grievous injuries, who was then rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32, by Ramdiya and other people gathered on the spot. However, the two were declared dead on arrival.
The accused car driver, Banty, who managed to escape, was arrested later by the police and a case was registered against him at the Banur police station under sections 279, 304 A and 427 of the IPC. Banty is now facing a trial in the JMIC court at district courts of Mohali.
When contacted, the father of Abhinav Bindra, Apjit Bindra, told Chandigarh Newsline that the car was sold to a car dealer in Chandigarh a year before the accident occurred. “After the car was sold to the dealer, he had sold it further to the accused person Banty, whom we do not know. We have all the sale deed documents of the car and we have nothing to do with the accident,” said Apjit Bindra.
