A tragic accident shook Ujjain on Monday evening when a Scorpio SUV carrying 60-year-old sarpanch Rituraj Singh Jhala plunged into a 20-foot-deep pond near Kachanariya village on the Ujjain–Dewas road. The incident occurred around 5 pm in the Narwar police station limits, and a live video of the mishap also surfaced shortly after. As soon as the information reached authorities, Narwar police, the SDERF team, and local villagers rushed to the spot and launched an extensive rescue operation.
According to station in-charge Ballu Singh Mandloi, the depth of the pond made the recovery extremely challenging. The rescue efforts continued for nearly seven hours, after which the sarpanch’s body was recovered at around 11 pm. The body has been sent for postmortem and will be handed over to the family on Tuesday morning.
Rituraj’s younger brother Raghuraj Singh said that the sarpanch was on his way to the farm when the vehicle suddenly went out of control near the pond. He suspects that the Scorpio’s suspension pin may have broken, as some mechanical repair work was already underway.
Rituraj Singh, elected for the first time in 2022, was a popular leader known for major development works in the 1,300-population Kachanariya village. He had donated portions of his own land for public facilities, including cremation space, school pathways, Anganwadi land, and a planned CCTV setup. The incident has left the entire village in deep shock.
