At least four people were killed and eight others injured in two separate road accidents on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Madhya Pradesh's Ratlam district on Tuesday, 29 September, according to police. Both incidents occurred within roughly two hours of each other on the eight-lane expressway, under the jurisdiction of the Jaora Industrial police station, with both vehicles plunging into a 30-40 feet deep gorge after striking the central median.

The First Accident

The initial crash took place at approximately 4:30 am when a car carrying a family from Punjab — travelling from Ambala, Haryana, to Mumbai — struck the median railing at high speed. The vehicle broke through a section of the railing and fell into the gorge below.

Narendra Kaur (67) and her daughter-in-law Manpreet Kaur (32), both residents of Punjab, died in the crash. Three other occupants — including an elderly man and two children — sustained injuries and were first taken to a hospital in Jaora before being referred to Ratlam Medical College for further treatment.

Jaora Industrial police station in-charge Prakash Gadariya said: 'Prima facie, it appears that the driver may have become drowsy while driving at high speed and lost control of the vehicle, causing it to hit the railing.' Police reached the site after being alerted by other motorists passing through.

The Second Accident — Two Hours Later

While police personnel were still examining the site of the first crash, a second vehicle — bearing registration number GJ20 CB 4610 — carrying a family from Dahod, Gujarat, met with an accident at around 6:30 am. The car reportedly went airborne after striking the central median at the same stretch, where the railing had already been damaged in the earlier incident, and fell into the gorge.

Ravi Hatila (35), who was driving the second car, and Ramesh Makwana (50), both from Dahod, were killed. Four to five other occupants of the vehicle were injured. The Gujarat family was reportedly returning home after travelling to Uttar Pradesh for medical treatment of a family member.

Gadariya confirmed: 'The railing had been damaged in the first accident, and while our personnel were conducting an inspection at the spot, the second car hit the median and fell into the gorge.'

Infrastructure Under Scrutiny

The back-to-back nature of the crashes has raised urgent questions about road safety infrastructure on the expressway. The fact that a second vehicle fell into the same gorge through a railing already compromised by the first accident points to a critical failure in emergency response and barrier maintenance protocols. Notably, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway — one of India's flagship infrastructure projects — has seen multiple fatal accidents since sections opened to traffic, drawing recurring criticism from road safety advocates.

Police have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding both accidents, covering road infrastructure conditions and the factors that led to both vehicles losing control.

Investigation and Next Steps

Authorities are examining whether adequate warning signs or temporary barriers were deployed after the first crash to prevent further incidents at the same spot. Road safety experts have long argued that the absence of rapid-response protocols on high-speed expressways compounds initial accidents into multi-vehicle tragedies. The findings of the police probe are expected to be submitted to district authorities, who may escalate the matter to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a structural review of the median barriers along this stretch.