3 cops killed as bike collides with anti-landmine vehicle

Three policemen were today killed when their motorcycle collided head-on with an anti-landmine vehicle which was on a night patrol in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bijapur district.

The accident occurred at around 3 am near collectorate office under Bijapur Police Station limits in which three assistant constables died, Bijapur Additional Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elesela said.

The deceased were identified as Modiyam Lakeshwar (28), Koram Satyam (21) and Mahadev Gota (32), natives of Bijapur.

They were posted at police lines in the district headquarters, he said.

Prima facie it appears that the policemen, riding triple on a bike, were apparently inebriated and failed to negotiate way with the mine-protected vehicle (aimed at protection of security forces conducting anti-terrorism and anti-Naxalite operations) which was coming from the opposite direction. The bike crashed head-on into its left side, the ASP said.

Soon after the mishap, police personnel on night patrol informed senior officials and rushed the victims to a local hospital where they were declared brought dead, he said.

As per preliminary investigation, the victims sustained fatal head injuries. However, medical reports will help to establish the exact cause of the deaths, he said.

Police are also trying to find out where the trio had gone after completing their duty in the night hours, he said.

A case has been registered in this connection and further probe is on, he added.