MP News: Barela Hit-And-Run, Toll Reaches 5 As Three More Succumb; Accused Still On The Run In Jabalpur

Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): The number of casualties in the tragic hit-and-run that occurred near the Barela toll post in Jabalpur rose to five on Monday, after three persons succumbed to their injuries.

On Sunday, two persons died and 11 others were injured after a speeding car ploughed through a group of 13 women labourers on a lunch break on the roadside.

The driver of the car, which did not have a registration number plate, is still on the run, police said.

The incident took place around 2 pm near Ekta Chowk in front of Sigma Colony under Barela police station limits when these labourers, hired for installing road divider grilles, were having lunch, Additional Superintendent of Police Pallavi Shukla said.

“Efforts are being made to nab the absconding car driver. The deceased and the injured persons, who have been admitted to Jabalpur Medical College, hail from Mandla district. One of them is in a critical condition,” police said.

The deceased were identified as Bharti Chainwati, Lachho Bai (38), Gomti Bai, Varsha Bai, and Krishna Bai, said Barela police. Gomti Bai, Varsha Bai and Krishna Bai succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment at the Medical College. All three had been on ventilator support since the accident.

Victims’ families protest on highway, traffic hit

Victims’ families staged a massive protest along the Jabalpur-Raipur National Highway on Monday, disrupting traffic movement for several hours. 

The demonstrators blocked the route by placing the victims’ bodies across the road. The protesters raised slogans against the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) demanding immediate financial compensation for the bereaved

families. By the time this report went to press, authorities were trying to negotiate a clearance of the blockade. 

A five-kilometer-long queue of trucks, buses, and private vehicles was stranded for hours due to the protest.