Police havaldar, container driver and cleaner killed as truck hits police jeep at Anjanari Ghat

A police havaldar was killed on the Mumbai-Goa highway near Anjanari Ghat in Ratnagiri on Saturday night, while he was on his way to help at the scene of another reported accident.

The incident took place on October 31. At about 11:30 pm, the Hatkhamba Highway Traffic Assistance Centre received preliminary information from Lanja police station that a vehicle had fallen into the Kajli riverbed near the Anjanari Ghat bridge.

To verify the information and provide help, Police Havaldar Santosh Gaikwad and Police Constable Anil Shingade of the Hatkhamba traffic centre set out towards Anjanari in an official Bolero jeep (number MH 08 BE-3561). The jeep had just reached the Anjanari river when a speeding heavy container truck coming from behind, headed towards Goa, hit it. The container was loaded with iron rods.

It is said that the trailer driver paid no heed to the poor condition of the road and the three slopes there, and drove negligently, ramming the police Bolero. After the collision, both vehicles went out of control.

The impact was so severe that the police jeep was thrown off the road and fell into a gorge about 100 feet deep. The container, its driver having lost control, also overturned into the gorge. The jeep was completely wrecked.

Police Havaldar Santosh Amasaheb Gaikwad, who was seriously injured, died during treatment at the Ratnagiri District Hospital. The container driver, Madan Hem Singh, and the cleaner sitting with him both died on the spot.

Even in such difficult circumstances, the injured Constable Anil Shingade, who had fallen into the gorge, did not lose consciousness. He himself phoned Lanja police station to report the accident. On receiving the news, police from Lanja and Hatkhamba reached the spot. With considerable effort in the dark of night, the two policemen trapped in the jeep were pulled out and sent for treatment to the rural hospital at Pali. From there they were taken to the District General Hospital in Ratnagiri for further treatment.

The road through Anjanari Ghat is considered dangerous. It has sharp bends and treacherous slopes, which have caused several accidents in the past.