Honey Singh mourns nephew Vidit Olak after Jalandhar crash: 'It's a dark decade for me'

Dubai: Two friends returning home from a birthday party died early on Sunday after their car crashed into a parked tractor-trolley on a flyover in Jalandhar, Punjab.

One of them was Vidit Olak, nephew of singer and rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh. His father, Dinesh, owns the Punjabi music company Speed Records.

The other was his friend Aarav Talwar, son of the owner of Jalandhar's Pappy Sweets, The Week reported.

What happened

The crash happened on a flyover near the Police Lines area in Jalandhar. The friends' Volkswagen was travelling from BMC Chowk towards BSF Chowk when it hit a Municipal Corporation tractor-trolley parked on the road.

Baradari police station received information about the accident at around 3am local time, which was 1.30am in the UAE, said Station House Officer Sahil Chaudhary.

According to Chaudhary, Municipal Corporation sanitation workers were cleaning the flyover at the time. They had parked the tractor-trolley there to collect garbage.

Both young men died in the crash. Neither victim's age has been reported.

Who was in the car

Five friends had set out in the Volkswagen after the birthday party, but three had already been dropped home before the crash, the SHO said. Only Vidit and Aarav were in the car when it hit the trolley.

After the call, police reached the scene and took the bodies into custody. The families decided not to pursue further legal action, and the bodies were handed over to them.

Honey Singh's tribute

Honey Singh, whose real name is Hirdesh Singh, shared his grief in an Instagram Story after the news broke.

"Its dark decade for me. Loss of my nephew is devastating. Bhole nath mehr mehr mehr," he wrote, tagging Vidit's father, according to the Free Press Journal. The last line, a prayer to Lord Shiva, translates as "Lord Shiva, have mercy, mercy, mercy."

He did not say anything more about the accident.

The families behind the names

Speed Records, run by Vidit's father, is a Punjabi music label based in Punjab. It has released music by many of the region's best-known singers.

Pappy Sweets, run by Aarav's family, is a sweet shop business in Jalandhar.

Messages of condolence have been shared on social media since the news of the crash came out.

About Honey Singh

Honey Singh is one of India's best-known rappers and music producers. He rose to fame in the early 2010s with Punjabi and Bollywood hits such as Brown Rang, Blue Eyes and Desi Kalakaar.

He took a break from music for several years before returning to performing and releasing new songs. His life and career were the subject of the 2024 Netflix documentary Yo Yo Honey Singh: Famous.