Dhamtari (Chhattisgarh): Three personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force and a civilian driver were killed after their vehicle rammed into a stationary truck in Chhattisgarh’s Dhamtari district on Saturday morning, police said.
The accident occurred around 8 am near Khapri village on the Dhamtari bypass along the Jagdalpur–Raipur National Highway. According to Superintendent of Police Suraj Singh Parihar, the victims were commandos from the CRPF’s elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit.
The personnel, belonging to the 201st battalion of CoBRA, were travelling from Jagdalpur — the headquarters of Bastar district — to Raipur, from where they were scheduled to proceed to their native places on leave. Four commandos and a civilian driver were in the car at the time of the incident.
Police said the vehicle crashed into a truck parked on the roadside. The impact was severe, killing one jawan and the driver on the spot. Two other personnel later succumbed to injuries while being shifted to a hospital.
Preliminary investigation suggests the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel, causing the speeding vehicle to collide with the stationary truck, Parihar said.
The deceased were identified as CRPF personnel Saurabh Tomar, Mukesh Kumar and Rajkumar God, along with driver Heeralal Nagar. Another CoBRA commando, Abhiman Rai (28), sustained injuries and has been referred to a hospital in Raipur for further treatment.
The CRPF and its CoBRA unit are heavily deployed in the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, to conduct anti-Naxal operations.
