A tragic road accident took place in the Devprayag area of Tehri district, Uttarakhand. A pickup vehicle fell into a deep gorge near Tota Ghati on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway. Three people lost their lives in this accident. Devprayag Police Station in-charge L.S. Butola confirmed the incident.
When and how did the accident happen?
According to Station Officer L.S. Butola, on the night of October 25, three men left for Gopeshwar. Babli Kaur, a resident of Doiwala in Dehradun district, informed the Bachelikhal police post on the morning of October 27 that her son Mohan Singh (25), pickup driver Praveen Rathore (around 25), and Tara Chand (about 24) had left the Asian Paints warehouse in Kuwanwalla, Dehradun. They were carrying paint buckets and putty bags to Gopeshwar.
When were they supposed to reach Gopeshwar?
Babli Kaur said that her son Mohan Singh was expected to reach Gopeshwar in Chamoli district by the morning of October 26. However, he did not arrive. She also told the police that since the previous morning, her son’s phone was not reachable, and later it was found switched off. The last phone location, as per Lal Tappad police post, was near Saknidhar. She came to search for them after getting no contact.
How did the police discover the accident spot?
After receiving the information, SI Deepak Lingwal, in charge of Bachelikhal police post, reached Saknidhar with his team and family members of the missing persons. They found nothing at the given location and continued their search toward Kaudiyala. On the way, the police noticed two broken parapet walls near Tota Ghati. When they looked down the gorge, they saw scattered paint and putty materials. Around 250 meters below, they spotted a pickup vehicle and its parts. The police immediately called the SDRF team from Vyasi to the spot.
Who were the victims identified by the police?
The SDRF team started a rescue and search operation after reaching the site. The bodies of all three men were recovered from the gorge. The deceased were identified as: Mohan Singh, son of Tara Singh (age 25), resident of Fatehpur Tanda village, Doiwala, Dehradun Praveen Rathore, son of Dinesh Kumar (age around 25), resident of Doiwala, Dehradun (driver and vehicle owner) Tara Chand, son of Suresh Chand (age around 24), resident of Fatehpur Tanda Majri Grant, Doiwala, Dehradun The police have taken further action as per procedure after recovering the bodies.
