For over two weeks, a family from Uttar Pradesh has been living in agonizing uncertainty, their lives upended by a horrific accident and a painful disappearance. Govind Kumar, a 52-year-old labourer from Nauranga village in Hamirpur district, is desperately searching for his wife, Parvati Devi (49), who went missing during the catastrophic multi-vehicle collision on the Yamuna Expressway.
A Fateful Journey in the Dead of Night
The tragedy unfolded in the early hours of December 16, 2025. Parvati Devi was travelling to Noida on a bus with her two younger children, Prachi (12) and Sagar (8). The journey took a deadly turn around 4 am near Mathura when dense fog enveloped the expressway, leading to a massive pile-up involving 18 vehicles.
In the chaotic minutes that followed, 13 vehicles, including eight buses, caught fire. The inferno claimed 20 lives, with several victims burned beyond recognition. Amidst the panic and thick smoke, Parvati Devi managed to save her children by pushing them to safety before the bus was engulfed in flames. While Prachi and Sagar escaped, their mother vanished.
A Family's Ordeal and an Incomplete List
The family's anguish has been compounded by an official paradox. Authorities have confirmed that all bodies recovered from the grisly accident site have been identified, and Parvati Devi's name is not on that list. Her eldest son, Aakash (22), a labourer in Noida whom the family was visiting, recounted the harrowing moments.
"My mother was injured. Thick smoke had filled the bus, making it hard to breathe," Aakash said. "She managed to get Sagar out first, and then Prachi escaped." He described his sister screaming for help as the bus suddenly exploded into fire, trapping their mother inside.
Since the accident, Govind Kumar and Aakash have been shuttling between police stations and administrative offices in Mathura, pleading with officials to acknowledge that Parvati Devi was on the ill-fated bus. Their efforts have yielded little concrete information.
"They called us four times and collected blood samples, hair strands, and nail clippings from Prachi and me for DNA testing. We don't know the results," Aakash stated. The wait has forced the entire family to leave their village due to rumors and public scrutiny, now living together in Noida.
Police Investigation and Unanswered Questions
Mathura police have initiated an inquiry to verify Parvati Devi's presence on the bus. Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural), Suresh Chandra Rawat, stated that they are examining CCTV footage, analysing call detail records, and recording statements of surviving passengers.
Officers have also visited the family's village in Hamirpur, recording statements from relatives and even the rickshaw puller who dropped Parvati Devi and her children at the bus stop. However, Rawat noted that when police first reached the accident site, no one informed them about a woman who helped her children escape but remained trapped.
Mathura District Magistrate, Chandra Prakash Singh, provided details on the identification process, confirming that 15 of the 20 bodies were identified through DNA testing. He revealed that two other families have also approached the administration claiming their loved ones died in the crash, but their bodies remain untraced. These claims are under investigation.
For Aakash and his family, the official probe into their claim feels like suspicion. "It made me feel as if officials suspected us of making a false claim just to seek compensation," he said, referring to the Rs 3 lakh compensation announced by the government for the kin of each deceased. He lamented the broken promise of identification within 72 hours, with two weeks having passed without resolution.
The story of Govind Kumar's search is a stark reminder of the human cost behind the headlines of road accidents. It is a narrative of a family suspended between hope and despair, seeking not just answers, but closure, in the shadow of a national highway tragedy.
