Bhubaneswar: Two policemen were critically injured when their motorcycles collided while pursuing suspected ganja smugglers in the Ramgiri area under Boipariguda police limits in Koraput district on Sunday.
The injured officers have been identified as Ramgiri outpost Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Bishnu Madkami and driver Dambaru Chalan.
According to reports, the Ramgiri outpost received a tip-off that three ganja smugglers were travelling on a motorcycle through the area. Acting on the information, ASI Madkami and Chalan immediately set out in pursuit on separate motorcycles.
About 11 km from the Ramgiri outpost near Dhalapur Nursery, both police motorcycles collided on a sharp curve, leaving the officers critically injured and throwing them onto the road. The smugglers managed to escape amid the chaos.
Local residents and Boipariguda police personnel rushed to the scene and shifted the injured policemen to Boipariguda Community Health Centre (CHC) for initial treatment. Due to the severity of their injuries, both officers were later referred to Saheed Laxman Nayak (SLN) Medical College and Hospital, Koraput.
Police have launched an investigation into the accident and the escape of the smugglers.
