Car accident: 45 hours on, body of one more cop found in Kshipra river; policewoman missing

Ujjain (MP), Sep 8 (PTI) Rescue agencies retrieved the body of a sub-inspector from the swollen Kshipra river on Monday, around 45 hours after a car carrying three police officials plunged into it in Ujjain district, an officer said, adding that a policewoman was still missing.

A day before, the body of Unhel police station house officer Ashok Sharma (58) was found.

"The body of sub-inspector Madan Lal (57) was recovered around 5.30 PM (Monday). Rescuers were searching for Constable Aarti Pal (aged around 30)," Superintendent of Police Pradeep Sharma told PTI over the phone.

After the postmortem, Lal's body has been dispatched to Salana in Ratlam district, his hometown.

He said the search operation stopped for the day at 8 pm due to darkness, adding that it will resume at 6 am on Tuesday.

The car carrying three police personnel fell into the river from a bridge without railings around 9 pm on Saturday, police said, adding that the strong water current was making the search operation difficult.

Pal was driving the car at the time of the accident, as per eyewitnesses.

The three personnel from Unhel police station, located 50 km from the district headquarters, were headed to investigate a missing person's case when the accident occurred, officials said.

Jiawaji Ganj city superintendent of police, Pushpa Prajapati, said more than 50 rescuers, including 25 from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) personnel, and 10 local divers, are conducting the search operation.

Mechanised boats and two drones were also deployed, the officer said.

The dam downstream has been closed to reduce the water flow, but the strong current was hampering the search operation, Prajapati added. PTI LAL GK NSK