Eight people, including three children and two women, were killed when a car plunged into a swollen drain in Madhya Pradesh’s Agar Malwa district early Saturday morning, police said.
The crash occurred at about 1.30 a.m. near the Bagulamukhi temple in Nalkheda town, roughly 30 km from the district headquarters, according to Nalkheda police station in‑charge Shashi Upadhyay.
The vehicle carried devotees from Odisha and fell into the rain‑filled drain. The occupants—three children, two women, and three men—were all killed.
District Collector Sher Singh Meena, Superintendent of Police Dilip Kumar Soni and Additional Superintendent of Police Ravindra Kumar Boyat arrived after the incident. A crowd helped tie the car with ropes, and a crane pulled it out. The bodies were taken to the Civil Hospital for post‑mortem examinations.
Investigators say the drain was overflowing from heavy rains and that the driver, Arun Goyal of Sudwas near Barod, lost control and was swept away. He also died. Victims were identified as Radha Rani Behera, Shiva Prasad Banmali Behera, Krishna Rajveer (son of Shiva Prasad), Sena alias Son Purva, Gyanendra Kumar Behera, Shiva Prasad Behera, and Rita Rani (wife of Gyanendra Behera). A case has been registered, CCTV footage is being reviewed, and authorities have pledged financial assistance: the state chief minister offered Rs 4 lakh to families, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Rs 2 lakh for each victim’s kin.
