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Journalism of Courage
The Pimpri Chinchwad police Tuesday invoked culpable homicide charges against the 25-year-old driver of the pick-up vehicle, which was involved in the accident in which 10 women were killed and 29 others were injured near the Khed taluka.
According to the police, Rushikesh Ramdas Karande, a resident of the Papalwadi Pait village, was ferrying the passengers illegally in his goods-carrying pick-up vehicle. The Khed accident victims and those who were injured also belong to Papalwadi Pait.
The police have said the driver was taking 41 people, including women and children, to the Shree Kshetra Kundeshwar Devsthan Temple when his vehicle lost balance on a slope, and fell about 30 feet off the road.
“He was arrested at 7.45 am today,” said Anil Devde, Inspector Mahalunge MIDC Police Station.
“The pickup truck has a goods carriage permit. However, the driver was illegally transporting passengers in the vehicle, which was dangerously overcrowded. Some were crammed inside the cabin, others seated on the roof, and several in the cargo bed meant for goods,” said Devde.
“The driver was fully aware that operating an overloaded vehicle on a winding road with sharp curves posed a serious risk to life. Near the base of the Kundeshwar Mahadev temple, he lost control of the vehicle, resulting in the tragic accident that claimed 10 lives and left 29 others seriously injured,” he added.
The driver was booked under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 281 (rash driving) and 125 (act endangering life and personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act including sections 66 (1) which pertains to necessity of permits, 192A, which relates to using vehicle without requisite permit, and 184 (driving dangerously).
The injured are being treated at a hospital in Bhosari, where some of them are in the intensive care unit.
The victims have been identified as Mandabai Kanif Darekar, 50; Sanjabai Kailas Darekar, 50; Meerabai Sambhaji Chorge, 50; Shobha Dnyaneshwar Papal, 33; Suman Kaluram Papal, 50; Sharada Ramdas Chorge, 45; Parvatibai Dattu Papal, 56; Baydabai Dnyaneshwar Darekar, 45; Shakuntala Tanaji Chorge, 50, and Fasabai Prabhu Sawant, 61.
