Punjabi star Rajvir Jawanda dies in horror accident after crashing motorcycle into stray cattle

The singer was best known for songs such as ‘Sardaari’ and ‘Kangani’

Punjabi singer and actor Rajvir Jawanda has died at the age of 35 after a motorcycle accident in the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh.

Jawanda spent 11 days on life support after the incident on 27 September, when he is reported to have lost control of his motorcycle after colliding with stray cattle on the road.

The singer suffered severe head and spinal injuries and was transferred from a local hospital to another in northwestern Punjab’s Mohali city in an “extremely critical” condition, officials said. He was transferred to intensive care but did not recover.

Jawanda was best known for songs such as “Sardaari,” “Kangani,” and “Do Ni Sajna”, which combined traditional Punjabi folk elements with modern arrangements. He also appeared on screen in Subedar Joginder Singh (2018), where he played Sepoy Bahadur Singh, and later in Jind Jaan (2019), his first leading role.

Doctors at Fortis Hospital in Mohali, a city in northern India’s Punjab state, confirmed that Rajvir Jawanda died early on Wednesday after suffering severe head and spinal injuries from a motorcycle crash on 27 September.

The accident occurred near Baddi, a small industrial town in the neighbouring state of Himachal Pradesh, around 60 kilometres north of Chandigarh.

Hospital officials said Jawanda had been on life support since his admission and that his neurological activity remained “minimal” despite intensive treatment.

Rajvir Jawanda (Instagram/Rajvir Jawanda)

Local police in Solan district, which covers the crash site, said initial findings suggest his bike struck stray cattle, causing him to lose control.

News of Jawanda’s death prompted an outpouring of grief from Punjabi musicians and film artists.

Actor Neeru Bajwa wrote on Instagram that it was “very painful to lose such a happy and kind person,” while comedian Gurpreet Ghuggi said: “Death has won, youth has lost. How will we forget you, little brother?”

Actor Neeru Bajwa wrote on Instagram that it was “very painful to lose such a happy and kind person”, adding that she was “heartbroken” by his death.

Comedian-actor Gurpreet Ghuggi posted a photo with the caption: “Death has won, youth has lost. How will we forget you, little brother?”

Raghav Chadha, a member of parliament in India’s Rajya Sabha upper house representing Punjab for the Aam Aadmi Party, called the news “truly heartbreaking,” saying Jawanda’s songs “carried the essence of Punjab’s soil and the pride of our youth.”

Member of Parliament, Malvinder Singh Kang, described Jawanda as a “beloved” voice of Punjab whose passing creates “an irreplaceable void in our cultural and musical heritage”.

A day after news broke of Rajvir Jawanda’s crash, Punjabi music icon Diljit Dosanjh stopped mid-performance at his concert in Hong Kong to ask the audience to pray for his friend’s recovery.

In a video shared by his team on social media, Dosanjh was seen addressing the crowd in Punjabi, asking them to pray for the “beautiful singer”.

“Please pray for him. Prayers have a lot of impact. He should get well soon. He should come back to us, back on stage. He is a very beautiful singer, Rajvir Veera,” Dosanjh can be seen saying in the video.

“When you pray for someone with a true heart, he will definitely fulfil your prayers,” he said.