Two police officers and their driver, all on election duty, were killed in a road accident near Bagalakot on Wednesday night.
The incident occurred around midnight. “The jeep they were travelling in collided with a truck at Kundala Sangam Cross in Bagalakot taluka. All three people in the jeep succumbed immediately,” an official in the CID control room told TNM.
The deceased have been identified as CID Deputy Superintendent Bale Gowda (55), CID Inspector Shivaswamy (55) and Venugopal (23), who was their driver.
“The driver of the lorry is absconding. A case has been filed in the Bagalakot Rural police station, and the police are trying to trace the driver,” the official said.
Bale Gowda served the Crime Department during his tenure as police officer. He worked around Tumakuru and Bengaluru area, and, his colleagues say, was known for his loyal service in the department.
Elections are scheduled for May 12 in Karnataka. The Hindu recently reported that 585 companies of the Central Forces, comprising 45,000 personnel, have been deployed to keep an eye on the elections. A press release by the Election Commission said static surveillance teams, flying squads and police personnel have also been arranged as per the Model Code of Conduct.
Police officers are expected to be armed and protect the internal security of the state and country during elections. Karnataka has 12,001 critical polling stations, while Bengaluru as 1,595 polling stations, as per the study conducted by the Election Commission.
Senior members of the Police Department took to social media to express their anguish.
We have lost 03 of our Police officers in a road accident on their way to election duties #BaleGowdaDySP, #SivaSwamyInspector & #VenugopalDriver.
— BengaluruCityPolice (@BlrCityPolice) May 10, 2018
A salute and mourn to our brave officers and praying for their souls to rest in peace. A huge loss to #KSP pic.twitter.com/5bMvtro3LF
My sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family of our brave men''s. Your service to the department always remains eternal. Let the souls rest in peace. https://t.co/3mcTSiNiyY
— T. Suneel Kumar IPS (@CPBlr) May 10, 2018
#KarnatakaStatePolice / @CIDKarnataka is poorer with loss of its officers, #BaleGowdaDSP, #SivaSwamyInspector & #VenugopalDriver - accident, on their way to #Bagalkot for election duties.
— Pratap Reddy, IPS (@PratapReddyC) May 10, 2018
Heartfelt condolences to the families. @BlrCityPolice @IPS_Association @DGP_FIRE https://t.co/UX56Nwf6ZW
Shocking news. May their souls rest in peace and their near and dear be all the strength to bear the huge loss. @BlrCityPolice @CIDKarnataka https://t.co/3dYi65MlrC
— Charan Reddy K S R (@charankambham) May 10, 2018
Bale Gowda was one of our fine officers. Our thoughts are with the families of the bereaved..RIP. https://t.co/Sem1MKF2iK
— M.N.Reddi, IPS (@DGP_FIRE) May 10, 2018