Maharashtra’s highways turn deadly—21 lives lost in series of crashes
Mumbai, September 11: At least twenty-one people were killed and several others injured in three road accidents in Maharashtra’s Ahilyanagar, Bhandara, and Nanded districts in the last 12 hours. These included women and small children, police reported.
According to police, the first incident occurred in the Bhalwani Shivara area of Ahilyanagar district. An Eicher tempo and a car collided head-on in front of Hotel Sandeep on the Ahilyanagar-Kalyan highway at around 2 a.m. last night. Four members of the same family travelling in the car died in the accident. The deceased have been identified as Shakeel Shaikh, his wife Salma Shaikh, Iqbal Shaikh, and Sumaiya Shaikh.
The investigations revealed that all of them were residents of Mumbai’s Malvani area and were visiting relatives in Ahilyanagar. Altaf Shabbir Shaikh (52), a resident of Mukundnagar, Ahilyanagar, filed a complaint with the Parner police station.
According to the complaint, Shakeel Shaikh was traveling to Ahilyanagar with his family in a car. An Eicher tempo coming from the opposite direction collided with their car in front of Hotel Sandeep in Bhalwani Shivara. All four occupants were seriously injured in the accident. Locals immediately called an ambulance and rushed the injured to Parner Rural Hospital. However, doctors declared all four dead after examination. The driver of the Eicher tempo fled the scene after the accident. Police are investigating the matter.
An Eicher tempo collided with a truck on Friday morning near Pimpalgaon on the Lakhani-Sakoli road in Bhandara district. Nine members of a laborer family traveling from Chhattisgarh to Nagpur were killed in the accident. The deceased included six women and three young children. They were traveling to Nagpur to celebrate the festival. There were approximately 16 to 17 people in the vehicles. The two vehicles collided near Pimpalgaon on the National Highway this morning. Most of the deceased were women around 35 years old, while one woman was reported to be around 55 years old. The three deceased children were under five years old. Four members of Somnath Verma’s family—his mother, sister, sister-in-law, and niece—also died in the accident. Three children injured in the accident were admitted to Bhandara Medical College, while the others were referred to Nagpur Medical College. The driver is injured and is undergoing treatment at Bhandara Medical College. Lakhani police are investigating the case.
In the third incident, eight people were killed and seven others seriously injured in a head-on collision between a truck and a pickup truck on the Nanded-Bhokar road in Nanded district at around 6 pm on Thursday. The deceased included a husband, wife, and two brothers. The deceased were identified as Pandurang Lingu Waghmare, his wife Laxmibai Waghmare (residents of Saidnagar, Bhokar), mobile repairer Syed Altamash Syed Alimoddin (resident of Bilalnagar, Bhokar), driver Sheikh Firoz (resident of Saidnagar, Bhokar), Balwan Pawar (Pota Tanda, Himayatnagar taluka), Shahid Saudagar (Bhokar), and Krishna Pawar (Pota Tanda, Himayatnagar taluka). The identity of one of the deceased is yet to be ascertained. Somnath Maruti Yelane, Sheikh Rehan (16), Sheikh Jalil (60), Pintu Dhurve, Rekha Baghe (40), Sheikh Khalil Sheikh Waheed, and Sheikh Babumia were injured in the accident. All the injured have been admitted to the Government Medical College and Hospital in Nanded. Police are investigating the cause of the accident. A total of 21 people have died in the three accidents.
Former Chief Minister and MP Ashok Chavan, MP Ajit Gopchadde, and Bhokar MLA Shrijaya Chavan have expressed grief over the Nanded accident. They have directed the district administration and health department to provide immediate and proper treatment to the injured. They have also asked the administration to continuously monitor the condition of the injured and ensure that there are no hindrances in their treatment.
