BHUBANESWAR: At least five police personnel were killed and three others critically injured after a head-on collision between a gravel-laden tipper truck and an SUV in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district early Sunday morning.The deceased personnel were identified as armed police reserve constables Kasiram Bhoi and Debendra Sa, havildar Lingaraj Dharua, sub-inspector Niranjan Kujur, and home guard Bhakta Bandhu Mirdha. All were in their 40s.Jharsuguda superintendent of police Gundala Reddy Raghavendra said that the tipper driver has been arrested. “The circumstances leading to the accident are under investigation,” he said, after visiting the crash site and later meeting the injured personnel at the hospital. The SUV was left completely mangled, underscoring the severity of the impact. Fire service teams deployed hydraulic cutters to dismantle the twisted cabin and extricate the trapped personnel. Despite swift rescue efforts, doctors declared five of them dead upon arrival at the hospital.
