Cop car, traffic jam hit rescue work

Panchkula: An ill-equipped PCR (police control room) Gypsy and a traffic jam delayed the attempts to save the life of two motorcyclists crushed under the front wheels of a truck on the Panchkula-Ramgarh road on Sunday night.
Minutes after the accident in front of the entry gate of ITBP centre, next to Haryana police lines, Moginand, around 10.30pm, the highway was jammed from both the sides as the two youths with severe injuries were lying in the middle of the road.
The PCR Gypsy arrived after 25 minutes, navigating the 1-km long traffic snarl. One of the motorcyclists, who was later identified as Kulwinder Singh, was not breathing, but the other, Gurpreet Singh, was alive.
Eyewitnesses said, "They pleaded before the PCR Gypsy in-charge to take Gurpreet to a nearby hospital but he expressed his helplessness claiming the vehicle has no medical equipment. Even a stretcher was not available. He finally agreed and took the injured."
A few minutes later, an ambulance of district health services arrived to carry Kulwinder to General Hospital, Sector 6. Kulwinder, however, succumbed to his injuries during treatment at PGI.
Suresh Kumar, one of the eyewitnesses who called up the police control room, said, "I made three calls. The last one which was attended was made at 10.41pm. The operator told me that two ambulances were dispatched and machinery was being used in another road accident reported near Old Panchkula, Sector 1."
Commuters, which included passengers of long route buses, were surprised to see the low standard condition of PCR Gypsys of Panchkula police that did not even have a stretcher.