Shahdol. Two men, including a local BJP youth front president, were killed late Saturday night after an unidentified speeding vehicle rammed into their bike on the Shahdol-Rewa highway.

The deceased have been identified as Rahul Dwivedi (28), president of the Karki mandal of BJP Yuva Morcha, and his friend Atul Tiwari (30), both residents of Tihki village. Police said the two were returning from a wedding ceremony in Jhiriya village when the collision took place near Jora Pulia around midnight.

Bodies Found at Daybreak

The impact was severe. Both men died on the spot, said officials familiar with the matter. The driver responsible fled the scene along with the vehicle, leaving the overturned bike and the victims lying by the roadside.

For several hours, the bodies remained there. It was only on Sunday morning that passersby spotted the mangled bike and alerted local police. A team from Byohari police station reached the location soon after and began documenting the site.

Political worker, friend remembered

Dwivedi was known as an active face of the BJP in the Karki area. Word of his death spread quickly through the village network. By late morning, a crowd of party workers, local representatives, and villagers had gathered at the district hospital mortuary.

The atmosphere was visibly sombre. Several leaders were seen speaking with the bereaved families, offering what support they could. Tiwari, who worked as a private tutor, was also well-regarded in the locality.

Highway safety concerns resurface

The accident has once again shifted public attention to unchecked speeding on the highway, which cuts through several densely populated stretches near Shahdol’s outer limits. Initial reports from the police suggest the vehicle that hit the bike was likely a truck or a large passenger carrier, though no official confirmation has been made yet.

Authorities have begun scanning CCTV footage from toll points and nearby commercial establishments. “We are checking feed from at least four cameras along the stretch. The vehicle will be identified,” a police source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Rising toll in the district

This is not an isolated incident. According to data collated by local traffic police, at least nine people have lost their lives in separate road accidents across Shahdol district within just the past week. Victims have included pedestrians and, in one case, a child waiting for a school bus.

Locals say poor street lighting on the highway and a lack of speed enforcement have made night travel particularly risky. “No one checks over-speeding after 9 pm. These accidents will keep happening,” said Mahesh Shukla, a resident of Tihki.

The police have registered a case under relevant sections of the IPC related to causing death by negligence and hit-and-run. Efforts to trace the absconding driver continue.

Post-mortem procedures were conducted Sunday afternoon, after which the bodies were handed over to family members for the last rites. Both villages observed a shutdown-like silence as the funeral processions moved through.