5 powerlifters killed in accident: When celebration turned to tragedy for families

Up until Saturday, the only thing on the minds of the families and friends of Tikamchand and Yogesh were celebrations.

Tikamchand, who turned 27 on Saturday, and his nine-month-pregnant wife Taruna were awaiting the birth of their firstborn in a matter of days.

Taruna’s brother Yogesh was scheduled to get married next month. However, in the early hours of Sunday their families were left grappling with the twin tragedies of the deaths of childhood friends and brothers-in-law Tikamchand and Yogesh.

The two had left home on Saturday night to celebrate Tikamchand’s birthday when they had the fatal car accident near Singhu border, claiming the lives of the duo, along with three friends. Two-time world champion Saksham Yadav was also among the five powerlifters killed in a car crash on national highway 1.

“He (Tikamchand) had married Taruna nearly two years ago. They were expecting their first child. In fact, she was past her due date in first week of January... She is now barely in a condition to talk and appears to be in a state of shock... We are now very concerned about her well-being,” said Poonam Khan, Tikamchand’s elder sister.

Poonam added that her mother had appeared concerned about Taruna’s advanced pregnancy on Saturday when she asked Tikamchand, the only male and earning member of their family, to stay back when he was leaving home in the evening. “He was quite excited about his birthday, but our mother kept asking him to host his friends at home. My brother, however, insisted that he go out with his friends and had left home by around 7pm on Saturday,” said Poonam.

Yogesh and Tikamchand, though brothers-in-law, had been friends for a long time due to their shared passion for powerlifting. They had become friends much before Tikamchand was married to Yogesh’s sister Taruna.

Along with their powerlifting, both of them were involved in part-time jobs — Tikamchand worked as a bouncer while 24-year-old Yogesh was occasionally a videographer.

The loss was particularly difficult for Yogesh’s father Pramod, an automobile mechanic. He lost both his son and son-in-law.

Pramod said despite the rush in his videography business, Yogesh had been putting aside assignments because he was about to get married in a month’s time. “For someone who used to attend dozens of weddings as the videographer, we were excited that Yogesh would finally be at a wedding where he would be the star — the groom... His marriage had been arranged with a girl in Bulandshahr and was scheduled on February 12 with his engagement a week prior to that,” said Pramod.