Vadodara Beat

Four killed in car crash
Four people travelling in a Maruti Zen were killed and three others seriously injured when their car was hit by a tanker on NH 8 on Wednesday night. The car was coming from Ahmedabad to Vadodara. The incident occurred near Bhoomil village in Kheda district, police said. The dead have been identified as Ratibhai Patel 55, Sushilaben Ratibhai Patel 48, Sureshbhai Patel 34 and Hiteshbhai Patel 26. The seriously injured are Dahval Patel, Rajeshree Patel and Partha Patel. They were admitted to Nadiad Civil Hospital. All the dead and injured were from Vadodara. The tempo driver also sustained serious injuries and was admitted to a private hospital in Nadiad. The police said the tanker driver is absconding.

Children die
Firecrackers caused the death of two children in Rajkot city during Diwali. In the first incident in Jungleshwar area, five-month-old Nasnin was burnt when her brother, who was playing with firecrackers, accidentally set fire to the bedsheet on which she was sleeping. She was rushed to a local hospital where she succumbed to her burns. In the second incident, four-year-old Badendra Premsinh died after he swallowed some fire crackers while playing with them. He too died in hospital.

Woman raped
A woman was reportedly raped on the city8217;s outskirts while a minor was raped in Thuravi village on Monday. Police say the woman, from Bajwa Harilok society, was going to towards Ranoli village around 10.45 p.m. when three persons reportedly stopped her near Rupali Hotel near National Nighway No. 8. The three accused, working with a transport company in Ranoli, dragged her to a nearby field and allegedly raped in turns. A case has been registered at the Chhani Police Station. The accused are absconding, police said.

Collection drive
The Employees Welfare Committee of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ONGC has initiated a collection drive to garner essential supplies, clothing and medicines from all the employees for people affected by the recent sypercyclone in Orissa, stated an ONGC release. A team consisting of doctors and paramedical staff has left for Orissa carrying with them medicines and clothes worth Rs 4 lakhs for distribution to the cyclone-hit people. The team would be operating in consultation with the State relief commissioner, the release added.