MUZAFFARABAD, Feb 20: Three officials of the AJK police, including a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), were killed when their vehicle plunged into a gorge in the southern Sudhnoti district of Azad Kashmir on Friday.

DSP Sudhnoti Raja Shabbir Ahmed was on his way to Tararkhal to inspect the scene of a dacoity when the tragic accident occurred near Baran Bazaar, a police official told Dawn.

His vehicle plunged more than 500 feet down the road, killing him and his gunman Javed Iqbal on the spot, whereas the driver, Mumraiz Khan, succumbed to his wounds in the hospital, the official added.

Though police officials were not admitting it on record but insiders told Dawn that the accident had occurred due to a technical fault in the ramshackle vehicle purchased in early 1980s.

Ironically, the insiders said, “While the senior police officers who mostly have to do desk job possess state of the art vehicles those who have to deliver in the field are provided with vehicles which have outlived their normal life since long.”

Recently, a DSP in Mirpur district had a narrow escape after one of the tyres of his vehicle burst while he was performing protocol duty.

The funeral prayer of DSP Raja Shabbir Ahmed would be offered in his hometown Jatlan in Mirpur on Saturday, whereas the deceased constables would be buried in their native areas in Sudhnoti.