Pune: 2 girls mowed down by car owned by Shiv Sena leader's relative; 1 injured

Pune: Two schoolgirls were killed and another was injured when they were run over by a speeding SUV belonging to a Shiv Sena leader’s relative in Maharashtra’s Baramati on Thursday morning. The incident triggered huge protests by residents, who set the vehicle ablaze.

The SUV is registered in the name of a relative of Shiv Sena leader Pappu Mane, who often uses it, but was not inside the vehicle at the time of the mishap that occurred on the Baramati-Morgaon road.

The deceased, identified as Samiksha Vitkar (13) and Divya Pawar (12), were on their way to school when they were mowed down. “Both the girls died on the spot while the third girl sustained injuries and was rushed to a hospital,” a police officer said.

Following the accident, the driver and other occupants of the SUV fled from the spot. A mob soon gathered and set the SUV on fire and resorted to a ‘rasta roko’ (road block) to demand the driver’s arrest, the officer said.

“There were three to four people inside the car when the accident took place, but Mane was not inside the SUV. We have summoned him for questioning,” he said, adding the law and order situation in the area was under control.