Jharkhand minister's daughter among 4 killed as car rams into parked truck; Guv, CM condole deaths

JAMSHEDPUR: Jharkhand minister Dipika Pandey Singh's daughter Trisha was among four people killed when the car they were travelling in rammed into a stationary truck in Jamshedpur city on Thursday, police said.

The accident occurred on Marine Drive Road in Sonari police station area in the early hours.

"At least four people, including Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Dipika Pandey Singh's daughter Trisha Singh, have been killed... The others have been identified as Sarthak Agarwal, Naman Gupta and Vanshika Khandelwal," Sonari police station officer-in-charge Sanjay Suman told PTI.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Manoj Thakur said all four passengers of the car were killed on the spot.

Visuals from the spot showed that the truck was parked on the right side of the four-lane highway close to the divider with a small tree branch placed in its rear, indicating that it was stranded after a breakdown and could not be moved. However, no reflector signages were seen on the road. The car was seen in a mangled condition behind the truck.

Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar and Chief Minister Hemant Soren condoled the deaths.

"The news of the untimely demise of the daughter of Jharkhand government's Minister for Rural Development, Dipika Pandey Singh ji, in a road accident on the national highway in Jamshedpur is extremely heart-breaking and soul-wrenching," Gangwar said in a social media post.

For a mother, the grief of losing her child cannot be expressed in words, he added.

Soren said, "The extremely distressing and heart-wrenching news of the demise of fellow minister and sister Mrs Deepika Pandey Singh ji's daughter and other individuals in a road accident on the national highway in Jamshedpur has left my heart profoundly grieved."

"The pain of losing one's child is beyond words and unbearable for any parent and family. In this extremely difficult time, my deepest condolences are with sister Deepika ji and the bereaved families. There are no words for this irreparable loss," he said in a social media post.

May Marang Buru grant peace to the souls of the departed and provide strength to the grieving families to bear this immense sorrow, he added.

BJP leader and former chief minister Champai Soren said the untimely demise of Trisha Singh was heartbreaking.