26-Year-Old Probationary IPS Officer Dies In Road Accident En Route His First Posting In Karnataka

Bangaluru: In a tragic incident, a 26-year-old probationary IPS officer from Madhya Pradesh, Harsh Bardhan, died in a road accident on Sunday while he was on his way to assume charge in his first posting in Karnataka’s Hassan district.

A 2023-batch officer of the Karnataka cadre, Bardhan had just finished his training at the Karnataka Police Academy in Mysuru.

The accident took place near Kittane, about 10 km from Hassan, when the police vehicle Bardhan was traveling in experienced a tyre burst. The driver, District Armed Reserve (DAR) constable Manjegowda, lost control over the vehicle, which crashed into a house and then a roadside tree. Bardhan sustained severe head injuries.

He was rushed to Janapriya Hospital in Hassan, where he succumbed to his injuries. The driver, Manjegowda, who suffered minor injuries, is receiving treatment in Hassan.

Bardhan is a native of Dosar village in Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli district. He was traveling to Hassan to take up his new role as the Assistant Superintendent of Police in Holenarasipur. His father, Akhilesh, is a sub-divisional magistrate. A civil engineer by training, Bardhan had completed six months of district practical training in Hassan.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah offered condolences to Bardhan’s family. In a post on X, he wrote, “This should not have happened when years of hard work were paying off.”

“I pray to God that Harshabardhan’s soul rest in peace. My condolences to the family of the deceased,” he wrote further.