Photo journalist killed in accident, three scribes injured

Chandigarh, Mar 6: A photo journalist of a leading national daily was killed and three of his colleagues were injured when the car in which they were travelling collided with a truck in Punjab's Kharar area near here.

Aditya Jaitley, a Ludhiana-based photo journalist with the Times of India, was driving the Maruti Alto car last night when the mishap occurred close to the Khanpur turn, about 25 km from here, police said here.

The accident also left the daily's Ludhiana Bureau Chief Vaivasat Venkat, reporters Sandeep Dua and Naveen Kalia injured, he said. Jaitely was declared as brought dead at the PGIMER here and the others were admitted with injuries. All the four were travelling to Chandigarh to attend a religious function.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal expressed grief and sorrow over the "tragic and untimely death" of Jaitley who was the son of Ashwani Jaitley, the Ludhiana Bureau Chief of a local newspaper ''Ajit''.

In the condolence message, Badal said Jaitley was a professionally committed news photographer whose promising career came to "an abrupt end" due to the mishap.

The Chief Minister and Sukhbir also prayed for the speedy recovery of the injured in the mishap.

PTI