In a ghastly incident, five people died on the spot after being hit by a capsule tanker around 1 am on the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday on National Highway-45 (Jabalpur-Amarkantak route), near Kikra Pond under the jurisdiction of Gadasarai Police Station. One person sustained injuries in the incident. The cause of the accident is due to the high speed of the capsule tanker. On receiving information about the incident, Collector Anju Pawan Bhadauria and SP Vahini Singh rushed to the accident site within moment. Later early morning, DIG, Balaghat range Vineet Jain also reached the spot. The senior officials met with the bereaved families, offered them solace, and assured them of every possible assistance. According to police, on Saturday-Sunday intervening night, a group of around 30 villagers from Paraswah, Karvemattha, and Ufri had travelled to Sukulpura village in a pickup vehicle to attend a ‘chowk’ ceremony. While returning from the event, their vehicle (Registration No. MP 65 ZD 1118) suffered a flat tyre near Kikra Pond village. Villager Mahasingh informed that the driver, Rajkaran Vanvasi, was in the process of changing the tyre, while other villagers stood along the roadside, lighting the area with mobile flashlights.

 

At that very moment, a speeding capsule truck approaching from the direction of Amarkantak Road ploughed down six of the villagers, triggering a scene of chaos and panic. Five person succumbed to their injuries at the scene. The deceased have been identified as Pawan Kumar Maravi (32), Vishal Singh Dhurve (58), Rajkaran Vanvasi (30), Bihari Singh Udde (31), and Pawan Singh Udde (52). All the deceased are relatives of each others. The scene at the site of the accident was deeply poignant. The body parts of the deceased were lying scattered at the spot in all direction. Meanwhile, the injured survivor, Uday Pratap Singh (20), was admitted to the District Hospital following preliminary treatment; his condition is reported to be stable. The capsule tanker also caused extensive damage to a roadside temple, a passenger waiting shelter, and an electric pole. Providing immediate relief, the District Administration has announced the financial assistance to the kin of the deceased.

 

This includes an immediate ex-gratia payment of Rs 50,000 per family through the Red Cross Society, as well as an additional assistance amount of Rs 4 lakh to dependant of each of the deceased person under the ‘Sambal Yojana’. Additionally, the administration ensured that proper arrangements were made for the final rites of the deceased. The police have arrested the driver of the vehicle name Rajesh Patel, a resident of Maihar involved in the accident along with the vehicle and legal action is currently being initiated against him. The District Administration arranged for the post-mortem examinations of the deceased at the Gadasarai Community Health Centre and subsequently handed over the bodies to their respective families for the final rites. Collector Anju Pawan Bhadoria, SP Vahini Singh, Bajag SDM Akshay Digarse, Dindori SDOP Satish Dwivedi, Bajag SDOP Vivek Gautam, and Bajag Tehsildar Bharat Batte, were present at the site since early morning hours to monitor the relief work .