26-year-old IPS officer dies in Karnataka road accident, probe finds police jeep’s airbags didn’t open

Constable Manjegowda was driving the jeep while Harsh Bardhan was sitting next to him in the front seat. Bardhan succumbed to the injuries four hours after the incident. On Monday, the body was handed over to his family members after a postmortem.

A police officer said the vehicle bearing the registration number KA-13G 1386 is a 2020-model jeep and that it did have airbags for both front seats. However, when the jeep toppled they failed to open. Experts say the airbags open when a crash happens in a certain way.

“A report will be submitted soon. On top of it, we have found that the jeep probably was speeding at 70-80 km/hr but we are ascertaining why the jeep drifted towards the left side of the road. Both occupants were wearing seatbelts. There was no tyre burst that could have led to the incident,” the officer added.

Hassan MP Shreyas Patel said he would take up the issue to ensure the quality and safety of police vehicles.

It can be recalled that former Tata Sons chairperson Cyrus Mistry died in a road accident in September 2022 when the Mercedes he was travelling in hit a concrete barricade. Though there were seven airbags, none of them opened. Investigations revealed that Mistry was not wearing a seatbelt when the incident took place.

Dr Abdul Basheer V K, president of Janapriya Hospital, said that Harsh Bardhan was in a bad state when he was brought to the hospital.

“We tried our best to save Harsh Bardhan but the injury was severe. A lot of doctors from other parts of the country reached out to me to suggest the treatment. He died because of diffuse axonal damage.”

Diffuse axonal damage is when the brain shifts or rotates inside the skull, causing the nerve fibres (axons) to tear.

The police have booked a case after Rohith Kumar H, a villager who witnessed the incident, filed a complaint. They have booked the driver of the jeep, Manjegowda, under sections 281 (rash driving), 125 (a) (endangering life or personal safety of others by causing hurt) and 125 (b) (endangering life or personal safety of others by causing grievous hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). He is undergoing treatment.

It was like a movie scene: eyewitness

Local villagers who witnessed the accident said the jeep was speeding and hit a coconut tree, preventing it from falling into a house.

Santosh, a youth from Kittanegadi village, said he was with his friends Puneeth and Rohith when the incident took place. “It all happened in a few seconds. The police jeep that was heading rightwards suddenly drifted towards left and hit cement pillars (barricades) and toppled for nearly three or four times for 40 metres before hitting the coconut tree,” he said.

Santosh said he, along with his friends and other villagers, rushed to the spot. “We dragged both occupants. We called an ambulance and also informed the police. At that point, we did not know that it was an IPS officer but he was severely injured on his head,” he added.

Santosh also said the tragedy could have worsened if it was a working day. “The coconut tree that the jeep hit is near a bus stop and there would be some villagers and children usually at 4 pm. As it was a Sunday, there were none at the place,” he said.