Five persons including a policeman were killed on Friday after a car in which they were travelling collided with a passenger bus in Bastar district in Chhattisgarh.
The incident occurred near Metawada village on National Highway 30, Jagdalpur City Superintendent of Police Hemsagar Sidar said.
The privately-operated bus with around 35 people on board was heading to Jagdalpur from Raipur. The car came from the opposite direction.
One occupant of the car succumbed to injuries while being shifted to the hospital.
The deceased were identified as police Constable Abhishek Sethia and his friends Dinesh Sethia, Gautam Gain, Sachin Sethia and Shakib Khan, he added.
The first four hail from Jagdalpur town while Khan is from Sukma district.
The bus driver, who fled the scene, was later arrested, Sidar said.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel condoled the deaths, saying the constable "won everyone’s heart with his liveliness and impeccable style".
Constable Sethia was posted in Jagdalpur Police Lines.