A 26-year-old Indian Police Service (IPS) officer lost his life in a traffic accident in the Hassan district of Karnataka, while on his way to start his first posting, the police informed today, Monday, December 2.
The officer was identified as Harsh Bardhan, a Madhya Pradesh native and a Karnataka cadre IPS officer from the 2023 batch, reports News18.
The vehicle he was riding in experienced a tyre burst near Kittane in Hassan taluk on Sunday evening (December 1), resulting in the collision. According to the police, the driver lost control of the car and it collided with a house and a tree on the side of the road.
Bardhan was en route to Hassan, according to the police, to take over as the probationary Assistant Superintendent of Police in Holenarasipur.
The officer died in the hospital while receiving treatment after suffering severe head injuries. Manjegowda, the driver, was slightly hurt.
A sub-divisional magistrate's son, Bardhan had just finished his four weeks of training at the Karnataka Police Academy in Mysuru.
Reacting to the incident, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took to X and wrote, “Saddened to hear about the death of probationary IPS officer Harsh Bardhan in a horrific accident near Kittane border of Hassan-Mysuru Highway. It is very sad that such an accident happened while he was on his way to take charge as an IPS office. This should not have happened when years of hard work were paying off (.sic)."
