KOTA: A 22-year-old man was burnt alive, and his pregnant wife was critically injured after their motorbike caught fire following a collision with a truck on the Kota-Indore national highway. This incident occurred under the jurisdiction of Raipur police station in Jhalawar district on Tuesday noon.
According to police, the truck driver fled the scene but was detained later in the evening on Tuesday. The truck, which was loaded with mangoes, was reduced to a burnt skeleton by the time the fire could be brought under control.
The couple, identified as Bherulal Meghwal (22) and his wife Ashabai (20), residents of Banskhedi village in the district, were travelling by motorbike to Jhalawar district hospital on Tuesday afternoon.
The head-on collision occurred between the bike and the truck near the Rajasthan-Madhya Pradesh border, Assistant Sub-Inspector Balchand of Raipur police station said on Wednesday morning.
Both the motorbike and the truck caught fire in the collision. Bherulal became trapped between the two vehicles, while his wife was flung to the other side, he said.
Bystanders witnessed the burning vehicles but were unable to intervene as the fire spread rapidly, and the bike rider was burnt alive before the flames could be extinguished, he added.
Ashabai, reportedly pregnant, suffered approximately 40 to 50 percent burn injuries and was being treated in hospital in Jhalawar.
The remains of the deceased were handed over to family members following the necessary medical procedures, and a case was lodged against the truck driver, the ASI said.
The truck driver sustained minor burn injuries and was detained after a medical examination on Tuesday evening, he added.
