Families demand martyr status for cops killed in Sagar accident:Children, parents break down during last rites; crash with container left 4 policemen dead

Four policemen were killed in a severe road accident on Wednesday morning in the Bandri police station area of Sagar district. Among the deceased was Constable Pradyumn Dixit. Shock and grief engulfed the families as the bodies reached their native villages. At Dixit’s home, daughter Raunak stroked her father’s head on the bier, while son Om, in tears, recorded the final moments on his mobile phone. The elderly parents said, He was our only child. Our toy is broken. We are 70 years old, now whatever God does. Final rites for all four personnel, Parimal Singh Tomar in village Nakhti (Morena), Dog Master Vinod Sharma in Jaura (Morena), Pradyumn Dixit in Phoop (Bhind), and Anil Singh Kaurav in Tekon village (Bhind), were conducted on Thursday. A Dainik Bhaskar team attended the ceremonies and spoke to the bereaved families. Container hits police vehicle on one-way highway The bomb disposal squad and dog squad personnel from Morena district had been deployed in Balaghat as part of an anti-Naxal operation. After completing duty, they were returning to Morena in a BD-DS vehicle on Tuesday night. Around Bandri in the Jhinjhini Valley area on NH-44, their vehicle collided head-on with an oncoming container. Construction work for an underbridge is underway on this stretch of the highway, making traffic one-way in the Bandri section. The impact killed Constable Pradyumn Dixit, Head Constable Paramlal Tomar, Dog Master Vinod Sharma and Constable Anil Singh Kaurav on the spot. Injured constable Rajeev Chauhan was airlifted to Sir Gangaram Hospital in Delhi. The bodies were taken to their native villages on Thursday for their final rites. 1. Daughter of constable Pradyumn Dixit says, ‘He had promised to return’ Pradyumn Dixit’s body reached Phoop town in Bhind district around noon on Wednesday. The entire locality mourned as relatives and neighbors gathered, crying and embracing one another. Daughter Raunak caressed her father’s head repeatedly, while son Om, weeping, continued to record the final moments on his phone. His wife Anita touched his feet with henna still on her hands. She said she had spoken to him via video call on Tuesday afternoon, and he had said he would reach home the next day. ‘I had applied mehendi… and lost him the next morning,’ she said. Pradyumn’s father, Ballabh Dixit, said, I was proud of him. He was cheerful, friendly. Now the house’s joy is gone. I don’t know how I will carry this burden. Daughter recalled their last call: ‘Papa said he was leaving Balaghat and would reach home. I didn’t know that was the last time.’ Allegation of negligence in highway construction Vivek Bhadauria, a close colleague who brought the body from Morena, blamed the construction company working on NH-44. He said, The four-lane highway suddenly becomes single lane in Malthon police station area because construction is incomplete. The BDS vehicle could not avoid the heavy vehicle coming from the opposite direction. This accident happened due to negligence. The agency is entirely responsible. Photographs from the scene show the police vehicle crushed from the front after the collision with the container. Neighbours remember him as cheerful, responsible Pradyumn had been living with his family in the police line quarters in Morena since 2014. Neighbours shared that he treated everyone like family and often advised them to keep their children safe. One neighbour recalled, Just before leaving for Balaghat on October 30, he told us to take care of the house and make sure the children didn’t go near the road. A day before the accident, he said he would return soon. Then we received the news that he would never come back. 2. Head constable Parimal Tomar’s family received sudden phone call about accident In Nakhti village of Morena, the family of Head Constable Parimal Singh Tomar struggled to come to terms with the tragedy. His father, Bhagwan Singh Tomar, said he was at home around 10 AM on Wednesday when he received a call from the police informing him there had been an accident. When he rushed to the hospital, he learned his son had died. Parimal’s brother, Bhanu, demanded martyr status for him, saying, “My brother and the other jawans died while on duty. They deserve full honor. They were working for the country. Duty is duty.” Parimal’s sister broke down after seeing his mortal remains, reflecting the deep grief that had engulfed the family. 3. Dog Master Vinod Sharma’s family says, ‘He must be given martyr status’ At Jaura in Morena district, the family of Dog Master Vinod Sharma also called for martyr status. His brother Manoj Sharma said they had spoken three days earlier. ‘He said he would return in three days after finishing work. Instead, we received news of his death yesterday morning,’ he said. Brother-in-law Sonu Sharma said he had spoken to Vinod two days ago: I asked when he was returning. He said he would be relieved after two days and then come to Bhind, maybe that night or the next morning. But on Wednesday morning, we got a police call saying there had been an accident near Malthon. While traveling to the hospital, the family got stuck in a traffic jam near Datia. ‘Police and administration vehicles were going ahead. We understood something serious had happened,’ Sonu said. Sister learned about death online Vinod’s elder sister Lakshmi, who works in Haryana, said, I heard in the morning that a police van had an accident. When I searched the internet, I found news of my brother’s death. He was my younger brother. We hadn’t spoken for seven months. I never thought we would meet like this. Friends recall last conversation Childhood friend Sawan Tiwari said Vinod had made a video call on October 25. ‘He said it had been long and that we needed to meet. I didn’t know the next time I would see him would be at his funeral.’ Another friend, Kuldeep, said Vinod had told him he would visit Jaura soon and bring his children along. 4. Constable Anil Singh Kaurav Although the family details in Tekon village of Bhind were brief, the atmosphere remained similar—filled with mourning, disbelief and demands for recognition of his death as a service-related sacrifice. Financial aid announced DIG Chambal Range Sunil Kumar Jain stated that an immediate financial assistance of ₹1 lakh each has been provided to the families. He described the incident as an accidental death.