Senior official, two family members die in road mishap in J-K

A senior officer of Kashmir Administrative Service (KAS) and two of his family members were killed in a road accident in Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir today.
The accident took place near Khelani in Doda district on Batote-Kishtwar National Highway this morning, a police officer said.
The officer was on way to his native village in Jodhpur Ghat Doda from Jammu to attend the funeral of his father who passed away late last night.
The car suddenly skidded off the road on a curve near a petrol pump in Khelani and fell into a 300-feet deep gorge on the highway, killing two persons on the spot and injuring two others seriously, the officer said.

He said that passersby informed the police and helped in evacuation from the deep gorge.
"The accident happened when the car on way to Jodhpur Doda from Jammu perhaps went out of the driver's control on a curve near Khelani and fell into the 300-feet deep gorge at around 10.30 AM," SSP Doda Zahid Naseem Manhas said.

He said that the KAS officer and his wife died on the spot while his aunt died on way to hospital. The officer's brother-in-law was seriously injured and has been shifted to District Hospital, Doda for treatment.
The SSP said that the victims have been identified as Kalyan Singh Parihar, a 2001-batch KAS officer, who was posted as Additional Secretary, Roads and Building department (R&B), his wife Anita Devi and aunt Oma Devi.

(Reopens NRG9)
Meanwhile, Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra and PDP President Mehbooba Mufti expressed grief over the demise of Singh.
Former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah and Omar Abdullah also expressed grief over his death.
Senior PDP leader and former Education Minister Naeem Akhtar have also expressed condolences.