'I want to go home'

These were the last words of the BSF deputy commandant who died in a road accident on Sunday night

Deepak Mehra was on his way to meet his family.
He had gone to Meerut to attend a training programme on February 19 and had applied for leave to be with his family in Himachal Pradesh.


The mangled remains of the van in which eight BSF jawans were
travelling on Sunday night.u00a0 Pic/ Imtiyaz Khan

It was well past 10 pm on Sunday when Mehra called up his in-laws, who stay in Delhi.
"He told me that he had applied foru00a0 leave and will soon go to his village Olly in Himachal Pradesh to be with his wife Preeti, son Rishi and daughter Shweta," Poonam, Mehra's sister-in-law, told MiD DAY.

"Deepak was postedu00a0 at Srinagar and was looking forward to visiting his family," she added.
The bodies of Mehra and Ravinder Kumar Chandel, the driver of the van, were kept in full state honour at the AIIMS trauma centre, where they were rushed to after the accident. After the honour ceremony, the bodies of the officials have been sent to their native places.

Seven other BSF personnel, who were injured in the accident, were still recuperating at the hospital. Deputy Commandant Paritosh Biswas is one among them.

The 40-year-old officer suffered major head injuries and is critical, according to doctors attending him at the trauma centre.

"I am on my way to Delhi to be by my husband's side," Biswas' wife, Archana told MiD DAY over phone.
The accident occurred when a tourist bus near Chirag Dilli on the BRT corridor hit the van carrying BSF officers.
"I was on night duty. I tried to stop the PCR vans crossing by, but no one stopped to help. I dialled 100, but to no avail. People near the accident spot came forward and helped me in pulling out the bodies from the van. We then took the injured to the AIIMS Trauma Centre," said an eye-witness.

Two civilians identified as Sunder Lal, 42 and Sanjay, 45, were also killed in the accident while two others Inderjeet, 33 and Balwant, driver of the bus, were injured. Both Sanjay and Inderjeet - residents of Chirag Dilli -- wereu00a0 friends and worked in the same cosmetic shop in Greater Noida. According to the police, they were coming from Mayur Vihar after attending the marriage of their friend.

"Balwant was over speeding. We have registered an FIR against him under Sections 304A and 279 of the Indian Penal Code," said a police officer.