Two police personnel were killed and a sub-inspector and home guard were critically injured when a police van collided with a truck on the Dhamra-Basudevpur road in Odisha’s Bhadrak district early Friday, according to a report by the Times of India. The crash took place near Biras High School Chowk at around 12.30 am.
The deceased were identified as constable Prashant Bag, 38, who was driving the van, and constable Himanshu Ray, 35. Sub-inspector Dibya Ranjan Sahu, 32, and home guard Prashant Jena, 38, sustained critical injuries and were shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack for treatment.
The police team was travelling in a vehicle from Puri district and was returning to Basudevpur after visiting the Nayakanidihi police station area in connection with an investigation into a mobile phone theft case. Four police personnel, including the driver, were reportedly in the van at the time of the collision.
According to sources cited in the report, the truck was travelling towards Dhamra when its driver allegedly lost control and rammed into the police vehicle. The force of the impact killed Bag at the accident site. Ray died while being taken to Cuttack after the injured personnel were moved through multiple medical facilities.
The victims were initially taken to Basudevpur hospital. As their condition deteriorated, they were shifted to Bhadrak District Headquarters Hospital and later referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital. The movement between facilities reflects the emergency treatment chain used after serious road crashes in the district, although the report did not provide details of the hospitals’ trauma-care capacity or the response time.
The truck involved in the collision has been seized, and an investigation is under way. The report did not specify whether the truck driver had been arrested or whether a formal accident reconstruction had been completed. Further action will depend on the findings of the police probe into the circumstances of the crash.
