Four people, including three policemen, were killed when a truck coming from the opposite direction hit their vehicle in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district early on Monday, PTI reported. The vehicle was escorting the state Assembly’s Deputy Speaker Hina Kaware, said police.
Balaghat Superintendent of Police A Jaydevan said that another constable in the escort vehicle had received serious injuries and was taken to a hospital in Nagpur but Congress MLA Kaware escaped unhurt. The accident took place near Saleteka village at 12.30 am when she was returning from her constituency Lanjhi.
The truck driver was immediately arrested on charges of reckless driving leading to four deaths, The Times Of India reported. The driver told the police he was rushing to a government hospital after receiving news that his pregnant wife had gone into labour.
Jaydevan said the security personnel, in another four-wheeler, were travelling behind Kaware’s car. When her driver saw the truck speeding straight towards them from the opposite direction, he swerved into a field to avoid the collision, said Jaydevan. But the truck hit the escort vehicle and then overturned, he added.
The three policemen and the escort vehicle’s driver died on the spot. They were identified as Sub-Inspector Harshwardhan Solanki, Head Constable Hamid Sheikh, Constable Rahul Kolare, and driver Sachin.
“If my driver was not alert, the truck would have rammed into our car also,” Kaware told The Times Of India. “The government will extend all possible help to the aggrieved families.”
The state government has also ordered an inquiry into the accident.
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