Three members of a family, including a five-month-old child, were killed when a speeding pickup truck collided with their motorcycle in Madhya Pradesh’s Shajapur district, police said on Saturday.

The deceased have been identified as Ajit Panwar, his wife Pooja Panwar and their five-month-old son Shivanshu. They were residents of Indra Colony in Ashta town of neighbouring Sehore district.

The accident occurred in the Salsalai police station area when the family was travelling from Bolai village towards Ayyapur for temple darshan.

According to preliminary investigation, a stray dog suddenly came in front of their motorcycle. Ajit, who was riding the two-wheeler, tried to avoid hitting the animal but lost control of the motorcycle, which swerved into the path of a pickup truck approaching from the opposite direction. The pickup truck hit the motorcycle with considerable force, leaving all three family members critically injured. The motorcycle was badly damaged in the collision. The injured were rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared all three dead.

The family had left home on Saturday to visit a temple and offer prayers to mark the completion of five months of their son Shivanshu. However, they met with the fatal accident before reaching their destination.

“The family was going for temple darshan with their child when a stray dog suddenly came in front of their motorcycle. The rider tried to save the animal but lost control and collided with a pickup coming from the opposite direction,” a police official said.

The pickup driver fled the scene after the accident. Police seized both vehicles and registered a case against the unidentified driver for rash and negligent driving.

“Efforts are underway to trace the absconding driver with the help of CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem examination, and further investigation is underway,” the official added.

A Mumbai court on Saturday sent Amar, the 12th accused arrested from Haryana’s Sonipat in connection with the firing incident on Bollywood actor Tiger Shroff, to police custody till November 6.

On Thursday, a special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court had sent 11 other accused arrested in connection with the firing on Shroff’s car to police custody till November 6.

The latest accused was arrested from Rohna village in Sonipat.

Earlier in the day, the Mumbai Police had produced Amar before a court, which sent him to police custody until November 6.

According to officials, Amar is accused of having transferred money, allegedly used in the commission of the crime, online. The funds were reportedly used for various expenses, including the purchase of a motorcycle and booking hotel rooms linked to the case.

According to the preliminary investigation, Amar is a friend and neighbour of Kunal, who was arrested earlier in the case. Police investigations have revealed that Kunal allegedly transferred Rs 40,000 to Amar’s bank account.

Amar subsequently transferred Rs 12,000 to Radha’s bank account, another accused arrested earlier, allegedly on Kunal’s instructions.

The Mumbai Police are investigating these financial transactions to establish the purpose of the transfers and determine the connections between the accused. The money trail is being examined as part of the wider investigation into the firing incident.

Amar, who studied up to Class 10, works at a supplements shop. His parents reportedly earn their livelihood through daily-wage labour.

Meanwhile, Amar’s family has claimed that he is innocent and alleged that he has been falsely implicated in the case.

With nine of the 12 arrested accused reportedly belonging to Sonipat, the district has emerged as a key focus of the Mumbai Police investigation.

The police are examining the financial dealings and personal connections among the accused to establish the sequence of events and identify the roles played by individual suspects.

The Cyber Police Station in Delhi’s Shahdara district has busted a gang involved in impersonating Paytm executives and cheating street vendors and small business owners. Five accused have been arrested in connection with a cyber fraud case involving Rs 95,000, police said on Saturday.

According to the police, the accused allegedly targeted unsuspecting vendors and shopkeepers by posing as Paytm representatives and offering assistance with KYC-related issues, QR code updates and soundbox replacement. The investigation has revealed that the gang may have cheated around 50 to 60 victims using a similar modus operandi.

The case was registered as FIR No. 55/26 on October 26 at the Cyber Police Station, Shahdara, under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, following a complaint by Ramavtar, a vegetable vendor.

Police said that on October 20, two persons approached Ramavtar claiming to be Paytm executives. On the pretext of resolving KYC-related issues and updating his QR code soundbox, they took possession of his mobile phone. Subsequently, two unauthorised transactions of Rs 50,000 and Rs 45,000 were carried out, resulting in a total loss of Rs 95,000.

The investigation was assigned to Inspector Shweta Sharma. A dedicated team comprising Inspector Sharma, ASI Rajdeep, Head Constables Javed, Deepak and Narender was formed to crack the case.

The team worked under the leadership of SHO Cyber Police Station Vijay Kumar, under the supervision of ACP Operations Avdhesh Kumar and the overall supervision of the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Shahdara.

During the investigation, police analysed the money trail, bank accounts and CCTV footage, which led to the arrest of five accused people.

Two of the accused impersonated Paytm executives to cheat victims, while the remaining three allegedly provided bank accounts to route and withdraw the cheated money.

The arrested accused have been identified as Juned, 23, a resident of Chhaprauli in Uttar Pradesh’s Baraut; Anas, 19, a resident of Sangam Vihar, Wazirabad; Mohit, 24, and Rohit, 19, both residents of Bhalswa Dairy in North Delhi; and Sumit Kumar, 19, a resident of Aya Nagar in South Delhi.

Police said a Paytm employee identity card was found on the mobile phone of Juned, who had previously been associated with the company. The accused are suspected to be involved in 50 to 60 similar incidents, while their bank accounts have been linked to around 20 cybercrime complaints and cases registered across India.

Six mobile phones, seven SIM cards, four ATM cards and three cash withdrawal slips were recovered during the investigation.

Further investigation is underway.