The deceased, who were going back to Sidhupur Kalan village after attending a wedding function, were relatives, and three of them had come from abroad.

The deceased include Gurpreet Singh (24), Sardara Singh (85), Major Singh (40), Sukhjit Singh (20), Harinder Singh (19), Gurpreet Singh (21) and Bir Devinder Singh (20). The injured, Jagjit Singh, was rushed to a hospital in Chandigarh.

According to the deceased’s relatives, who had gathered at Khamano Civil Hospital to claim the bodies, they had gone to a nearby village to attend the jaago function of Bir Devinder’s brother. “As they got late at night, they decided to go together in a Scorpio,” said one of them.

Investigating officer Manohar Singh said the truck was stranded on the roadside and due to the darkness, the driver of the Scorpio could not see it and collided with it at high speed.

“The impact of the collision was such that the truck, loaded with iron bars, was pushed away by a few feet,” he added.

Residents of villages nearby said the police had a tough time taking out the mutilated bodies and the rescue operation took more than two hours.

The police have registered a case under sections 283 and 304 of the IPC against the driver of the truck, who is absconding.

Two die as bus overturns