Overview
- Police said the crash occurred around 1:30 a.m. near Melua in the Kurwai area as six friends drove home from a birthday celebration on State Highway 14.
- The deceased were identified as Ankit Sahu, Tanay (Tanmay) Sharma, and driver Jagdish Sahu, with postmortems completed and last rites performed.
- Rescuers used cutters and earthmoving machinery to free occupants after the SUV’s front end became mangled and lodged into the rear of the dumper.
- The injured—Monty Ahirwar, Jagdish Gond, and Tanmay Srivastava—were hospitalized, with Monty in critical condition and referred to Bhopal for advanced care.
- Investigators registered a negligence case and seized the dumper as they examine whether speed, night-time visibility issues, and inadequate warning reflectors contributed to the collision.