A late-night excursion for tea turned into a horrific tragedy as three friends were killed and another sustained life-threatening injuries when their car collided head-on with a straw-laden tractor-trolley in the Intkhedi area on the outskirts of the State capital. The incident occurred late Tuesday night near the Nipania Jat Raipur crossing. The impact was so severe that police had to use metal cutters to extract the bodies and the lone survivor from the crushed remains of the Baleno car. The deceased have been identified as Harsh Mehra, a 23-year-old B.Com student and the only son of Gulab Singh Mehra, a Panchayat Secretary, and Rekha Mehra, the village Sarpanch. Also killed in the crash were 22-year-old Satish Mehra, who was the nephew of the Panchayat Secretary and a resident of Kachi Barkheda, and Lucky Kushwaha, also known as Lucky Ahirwar, a resident of Sagoni village who was engaged in farming.

 

The lone survivor, Gabbar Sen, also known as Yogesh Sen, is currently battling for life at private hospital in Bhanpur where his condition remains critical. Preliminary investigations suggest that the tractor-trolley, coming from the Berasia side, was operating with only one functional headlight. This mechanical failure likely misled Harsh Mehra, who was behind the wheel, regarding the size and exact position of the oncoming vehicle, leading to the direct hit. The collision was so strong that the wheels of the tractor-trolley were ripped off and the car’s chassis was completely destroyed. SDOP Manju Chauhan confirmed that the tractor-trolley has been seized and a formal investigation is underway. The group had reportedly left their village for Nipania just to have tea when the accident occurred. Additional Superintendent of Police Neeraj Chaurasia stated that the police have registered a case and the bodies were sent for post-mortem before being handed over to the grieving families.