Five police personnel were killed and three injured in a head-on collision between their police vehicle and a truck in Odisha's Jharsuguda district on February 22, 2026. The accident occurred early Sunday morning in front of the Jharsuguda Sadar Police Station. Authorities have detained the truck driver and launched an investigation.
The collision took place on National Highway 49 in Jharsuguda district during the early hours of February 22, 2026. According to reports, eight police personnel were in the vehicle at the time. One account states they were returning from the wedding of a colleague in the Rengali area under Lakhanpur police station, while another indicates the vehicle was on patrol duty.
The truck, laden with stone chips and described as a speeding trailer in some reports, rammed into the police vehicle from the opposite direction. Five personnel died on the spot: Armed Police Reserve personnel Kashiram Bhoi and Debadatta Sa, Drill Sub-Inspector Niranjan Kujur, Armed Police Reserve havildar Lingaraj Dhurua, and Home Guard Bhaktabandhu Mirdha.
The three injured—two Armed Police Reserve personnel and a sergeant—were rushed to Jharsuguda District Headquarters Hospital, where they are battling for life. Locals and police helped recover the victims from the mangled vehicle.
Jharsuguda Superintendent of Police Gundala Raghavendra Reddy stated, “The exact sequence of events is yet to be established. We are interrogating the trailer driver.” Senior officers visited the hospital to assess the situation. The truck driver has been detained, and the vehicle seized as investigations proceed.
This incident highlights ongoing road safety issues in Odisha, where data from 2024 shows overspeeding contributed to thousands of accidents and fatalities on highways.
