Three people were killed early Sunday after an unidentified vehicle ran them over while they were out on their morning walk in Chhattisgarh’s Janjgir-Champa district. The driver fled the scene after the crash, and police are now trying to identify the vehicle.

The accident took place on the Bharatmala road passing through Dongri-Korbi village in Baloda police station limits, between 4 am and 5 am. The victims were identified as Dilharan Das Vaishnav, 62, Kedar Yadav, 52, and Santu Yadav, 70.

Police said all three were friends and used to go for morning walks together. Vaishnav had retired as a branch manager from a cooperative society, while Yadav and Santu Yadav were farmers. The three had walked about 2 km from home when they were hit.

Their bodies were found scattered across the road, around 5 to 10 metres apart, after the impact. Locals gathered at the spot soon after the incident and informed the police.

Officers reached the scene, completed the inquest and sent the bodies for post-mortem. Police are now scanning CCTV footage from the surrounding area to trace the vehicle and identify the driver. A case has been registered, and search teams are working to track down the accused.

The tragedy has once again raised concerns about road safety on high-speed corridors, especially during early-morning hours when visibility is low and traffic is sparse. Residents said the victims were part of a regular walking group and had no reason to expect such a fatal crash.