Unnao: A Border Security Force jawan who had returned home only a day earlier on leave died on the spot after his motorcycle collided with an auto-rickshaw on the service lane of the Lucknow-Agra Expressway. Thirty-year-old Shivam, a resident of Chandauli Khurd village in Unnao’s Hasanganj area, was cremated on Wednesday with military honours and a guard of honour.
Shivam, son of Rampal, was posted in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. He reached his village on Monday after taking leave, reportedly to be with his ailing mother, Madhuri, and family around Raksha Bandhan. On Tuesday evening, around 7 pm, he was riding toward Materia crossing with colleague Rajendra Rawat when their motorcycle struck an auto coming from the Lucknow side near a toll plaza. The impact was severe. Shivam fell and died at the scene. Rawat suffered minor injuries.
Police, led by Kotwal Sharad Kumar, recovered the body, sent it for postmortem, and registered the case as a road accident. Investigation into the circumstances of the collision is underway.
The news devastated the family. Shivam’s mother Madhuri and wife Gudiya were inconsolable. He is also survived by three married sisters—Shilpi, Jyoti and Nigam. Relatives described a household that had been looking forward to a few days with their son after his posting in Kashmir. Instead, the village was plunged into mourning within 24 hours of his arrival.
On Wednesday, after postmortem, Shivam’s body was brought to Chandauli Khurd. A large number of villagers and public representatives joined the funeral procession. BSF personnel rendered a ceremonial salute and military honours. Mohan MLA Brijesh Rawat attended, laid floral tributes, helped shoulder the bier, met the grieving family, and called the sudden death of a serving jawan “tragic.” He prayed for the peace of the departed soul and strength for the family. The cremation took place in a sombre atmosphere.
The case underscores a recurring pattern: personnel who spend long stretches on border duty often face the same road risks as civilians the moment they return home. Expressway service lanes and mixed traffic near toll plazas remain high-risk stretches, especially at dusk. For the BSF and other forces, such deaths—while not “battle casualties”—still leave units and families with an abrupt, preventable loss.
Local reports did not immediately specify whether the auto driver has been identified or booked, or whether compensation and official condolences from the force have been formally announced. Those details typically follow once the postmortem and initial police report are complete.
Shivam’s brief homecoming, intended as a reunion around a festival and a mother’s illness, ended in a village farewell with the honours due a serving soldier. The family now faces the long aftermath that follows such accidents: paperwork, benefits, and the absence of a son who had only just walked through the door.
