Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway Accident Kills 12

Mumbai: In a major accident on the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway, 12 people including a five-year-old child were killed in the early hours of Sunday. At least 23 people including nine children were injured in this accident.

The accident took place when a minibus rammed into a stationary container on the Expressway in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (Aurangabad) district. According to a senior police official, the accident took place due to the negligence of RTO officials who asked the truck driver to stop the vehicle in the middle of the Expressway to take action against the truck driver.

Around 35 pilgrims were coming to Nashik from Buldhana Sailani Baba Dargah when the bus rammed into the truck from the rear side. Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ordered an inquiry into the accident. The state government will provide Rs five lakh to the kin and kin of the deceased.

An official from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar said that the incident took place around 2 a.m. when 35 people were returning to their homes in Nashik after paying a visit to the Sailani Baba Dargah in Buldhana district.

According to the state disaster management unit (SDMU), the deceased have been identified as Tanushree Solse (05), Sangeeta Asbale (40), Panjabai Ramesh Jagtap (38), Ratan Jamdade (45), Kajal Solase (32), Rajni Tapase (32), Hausabai Shirsaat (70), Jhumbar Gangurde (50), Amol Gangurde (18), Sareeka Gangurde (40), Milind Pagare (50), and Deepak Prabhakar (47).

The official said that 23 passengers including 14 males and 9 females were admitted in two different hospitals. Of these, six passengers were admitted to Vaijapur Sub District Hospital, and the remaining 17 were admitted to a government medical college and hospital (GMCH) at Ghati. "Of 17 patients, one Sangeeta Mhaske is very critical due to the head and chest injuries and 11 patients are stable. The remaining five patients have been discharged from the GMCH," the official said.

The cabinet ministers Atul Save and Sandipan Bhumre went to the accident site and met the injured people at the hospitals. They also submitted their report to the chief minister.

Mr. Save said that the minibus, which has a capacity to cater to only 15 passengers, was carrying 35 passengers. "The bus was overcrowded. I think the driver of the bus dozed off while driving the vehicle, therefore, the accident took place," the minister said.

Astik Kumar Pandey, district collector of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (CSN) told this newspaper that all the 12 bodies have been dispatched to their relevant addresses. Six patients have been discharged from Vaijapur Sub District Hospital, he said. 

The police have registered an FIR under sections 304 (2), 308, 337,338, 427, and 34 of IPC against the truck driver Brijesh Kumar Chandel, RTO officials Pradeep Rathod and Nitin Konarkar. All the accused have been detained now and will be arrested soon.

"Mr. Chandel was coming from Hyderabad. The RTO officials stopped him at toll naka, took away his license, and asked him to stop in the middle of the expressway without bothering about other vehicles. The truck was standing between the third and the fourth lane. The bus driver might have got the impression that the truck was moving. Perhaps, this led to the accident," said a senior police official.    

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences and announced an ex-gratia of Rs two lakh to the relatives of the deceased from PMNRF.