LAYYAH, July 3: A Lahore-to-Layyah bus hit a patrolling police van near Chaubara on Tuesday, leaving an assistant sub-inspector (ASI) and three constables dead at the scene.

Eyewitness told Dawn the police van carrying ASI Nazar Abbas, Driver Abdul Majeed, constables M Rasheed Shakir and Shahzada Khuram, all from the Kapuri Patrolling Police Check Post, had been parked along the road to check a timber laden tractor-trolley. In the meantime, the rashly driven bus collided head on with the van dragging it 80 yards from the collision point. All the occupants of the police van died instantly. The bodies of Majeed and Nazar could be retrieved by cutting the door of the van. The driver escaped from the scene.