After he lost his wife last year, Bijender Singh, 58, had only one goal — to settle his son Ram Kumar. The father-son duo moved from their native village, Sarbhanna, in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr to Gurugram earlier this year, and started working as construction labourers. On Friday, the village mourned Bijender’s death and prayed for the recovery of his 28-year-old son, who is admitted to a hospital and continues to be in a critical condition.Bijender, his cousin Pappu Singh, 55, also a labourer; and contractor Satish Chand, 43, were killed after a speeding car allegedly driven by a St Stephen’s student hit them at the Dwarka Expressway in the early hours of Thursday. Identified as Vedant Khanna, the third-year B A (Honours) Economics student also sustained severe injuries in the crash and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital.“After his wife passed away, Bijender’s only focus was making sure that Ram was settled,” said his cousin Gautam Kumar. “He was saving every possible penny from these road contracts for Ram’s wedding. Now, instead of preparing for a wedding, we are running from pillar to post, borrowing money from relatives just to keep Ram alive in the ICU.”The incident took place between 1.50 am and 2.30 am on Thursday near Ram Chowk along the Dwarka Expressway’s Gurugram-bound surface corridor, said police. According to an FIR registered at the Bajghera police station, a team of workers was installing iron railing panels when the speeding hatchback allegedly breached roadside safety barriers and rammed into the construction site. The complaint, lodged by Satish Chand’s brother, Jitender Kumar, who was present at the site, alleged that the car was being driven recklessly and that the driver appeared intoxicated. Police said the blood samples of the accused are still awaited to confirm if he was intoxicated at the time of the incident.Officers said the impact flung the workers across the asphalt, hit an idling utility pickup truck—shoving it forward by nearly 100 metres—and mounted the central divider before coming to a halt.Bijender and Pappu Singh were declared brought dead at the Civil Hospital. Satish Chand died of the severe injuries shortly after. Ram Kumar is currently on ventilator support in the intensive care unit of a private hospital.Satish Chand, villagers recall, had moved to Delhi nearly eight years ago. He is survived by his wife and four children. “Satish broke his back in the early years of his life for one reason: he refused to let his children grow up without education,” said his childhood friend Chaman Lal.Story continues below this ad“He had carved out a stable income, but with him gone, that cushion disappears. His wife, Dolly Devi, has no independent income. The fear now is that once whatever little money he left behind runs out, the family will be forced to pack up, head back to the village, and pull the children out of their classrooms.”It was Satish Chand who helped Pappu get a job. With his two adult sons, aged 24 and 28, managing marginal agricultural plots back home, Pappu had taken up labour work to build a wedding fund for his 18-year-old daughter. “Pappu kept telling us that the moment he found a suitable match and married his daughter off, he would bring his sons here so Satish could teach them work,” Gautam said. “He wanted to bring his wife over too and set up a permanent base. That cannot happen now.”Abhimanyu Hazarika is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Gurgaon. He covers southern Haryana. Education - Post-Graduate Diploma in Print Media, Asian College of Journalism (Class of 2020) - B.A. (Hons) Liberal Arts with a major in Political Science, Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts (Class of 2019) Professional Experience Before joining The Indian Express, he worked with Bar & Bench (legal journalism) and Frontline magazine, where he developed experience in court reporting, legal analysis, and long-form investigative features. Reporting Interests His work centres on civic accountability, environmental policy, urban infrastructure and culture, crime and law enforcement, and their intersections with politics and governance in and around Gurgaon. Recent Coverage (2025) - Crime: Reported on the recovery of 350 kg of explosives and an AK-47 from a rented house in Faridabad, linked to the 2025 Red Fort car explosion case (November 11, 2025). - Environmental policy: Covered protests outside a Haryana minister’s residence against a Supreme Court order that environmentalists argue could allow mining and real estate development on large parts of the Aravalli hills (December 21, 2025). - Pollution control measures: Co-authored coverage of the Rekha Gupta government’s enforcement of vehicle restrictions at Delhi-NCR borders (December 21, 2025). - Road safety and infrastructure: Examined response lapses in the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway hit-and-run case and ongoing investigations into high-speed road crimes in Gurugram. - Animal welfare policy: Reported on concerns regarding the low budget allocated for stray dog sterilization by the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (November 30, 2025). - Urban culture: Featured the social media-driven popularity of a new Magnolia Bakery outlet in Gurugram (December 15, 2025). 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