GURGAON/LUCKNOW: Four UP Police personnel and a complainant in a kidnapping case died on Tuesday morning when their Scorpio, headed for a raid of a suspected hideout, crashed into a truck on Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway in Nuh during an overtaking attempt.The crash occurred around 10.30am, about a kilometre before Dhulawat toll plaza. Police said the SUV was moving at high speed when the driver tried to overtake another vehicle, lost control and rammed into the truck. The impact crushed the front of the Scorpio so badly that all five occupants died on the spot. Their bodies could not be retrieved for about an hour until the mangled vehicle was cut open.The victims were sub-inspectors Mohit Kumar Yadav (32) and Satyabhan Singh (59), constables Ashok Kumar (28) and Pradeep Kumar (27), all attached to Jalaun police station.

The fifth person who died was Amreek Singh (35), a Jalaun resident who had lodged the kidnapping complaint and was travelling with the team to possibly lead them to the hideout. Police sources said the Scorpio belonged to Amreek and he was driving it.According to officials, the police team was on its way to rescue Amreek’s cousin, Bijender Singh, who was allegedly kidnapped from an agricultural field on Monday morning.

In his FIR lodged in Jalaun, Amreek alleged that four unidentified men kidnapped Bijender because of a dispute involving farmland taken on lease for cultivation.The case was registered under BNS sections 140(1) (abduction) and 305 (theft). The police team from Jalaun was working in coordination with special operations group.Passersby said the truck had been parked on the roadside for some time and its driver had gone to a nearby kiosk when the Scorpio slammed into it.

After the collision, the truck driver fled.Teams from Sadar Tauru police station reached the spot and began rescue work. SHO Shishram said it took considerable effort and time to extricate the bodies using rescue equipment. Ambulances were called and the bodies were sent to a hospital in Nuh for autopsy. Traffic was briefly affected during the operation.“We began proceedings as soon as we reached the spot. A complaint is awaited, after which further legal action will follow.

Prima facie, speeding and the parking of the truck on the expressway led to the accident,” DSP Abhimanyu Lohan said.Vehicles are not allowed to park along expressways. There are designated parking bays on such speedways.Police said they were tracing the truck driver and trying to find out if the parked vehicle had proper warning signs or hazard indicators. Once a complaint is received, an FIR will be registered under relevant sections dealing with causing death by negligence, rash and negligent driving, and endangering life, the DSP said.In Lucknow, chief minister Yogi Adityanath condoled the deaths and asked officials to coordinate with Haryana govt to ensure the bodies reached families at the earliest. Officials said UP govt was taking all steps to provide assistance to the bereaved families.