NAGPUR: A routine journey turned into a heart-wrenching ordeal on Nagpur-Jabalpur highway, after Amit Yadav, 36, a construction labourer, drove 80km through heavy rain with his wife’s lifeless body strapped on his motorcycle with a ‘dupatta’ and cops giving a high-voltage chase. A hit-and-run case soon spiralled out of proportion after the video went viral.The incident, which took place late Sunday near Deolapar in a forested stretch of the Pench tiger reserve, triggered outrage over lack of roadside assistance for accident victims, especially in remote stretches. The viral video showed a harried Amit speeding away with his wife’s body with cops trying to intercept him. Amit dodged highway ‘nakabandis’ by rural police at several points between Amdi Fatah and Shivaji Chowk Parseoni and took a detour through a dirt track to reach Koradi on Nagpur outskirts. CCTV footage at the Morfata toll naka could now provide clues to police to track down the killer truck.

Earlier, Amit and his wife, Gyarshi, 35, were en route to Karanpur in MP, to celebrate ‘rakshabandhan’ when a mini-truck hit their bike around 2.30pm after Amit slammed on the brakes to skirt a water-filled deep pothole. “The truck grazed past, throwing my bike off balance. Gyarshi was tossed under the truck and was crushed under its wheels,” Amit told TOI. While he sustained injuries, Gyarshi died on the spot.Stranded in a remote forest with no immediate help and outside mobile network, Amit, now a single father to his 12-year-old daughter, stood shocked and overwhelmed as he watched his wife bleed to death. “I was clueless. I picked up her body, our bags, and her helmet, tied her to the bike with her dupatta, and drove back,” he recounted. “Police visited the accident site and also recovered my wife’s broken bangles from the spot,” said Amit.The sight of a man riding with his wife’s body sparked alarm on the highway. Motorists and reel-makers trailed him, suspecting foul play, while police attempted to intercept him near Khumari toll naka after the control room began receiving calls. “I saw cops chasing me, but I was so bewildered that I just pressed on the accelerator,” Amit admitted. Nagpur city, rural, and highway police coordinated efforts to locate him, eventually reaching his home in Lonara in Koradi police limits. There, they convinced him to shift Gyarshi’s body to Mayo Hospital for autopsy.SP Rural Harssh Poddar confirmed that a case of causing death due to negligent driving was registered at Deolapar police station. “Prima facie, it’s an accident, but we are awaiting post-mortem reports to rule out foul play,” Poddar stated, adding four trucks have been identified by police.