Wednesday, Apr 17, 2024 | Last Update : 01:11 AM IST
3 from Sion family, driver die near Pune in mishap
Apart from Mane, his wife Sharada (40), son Hrishikesh (20) and driver Ramchandra Surve died in the accident.
Pune/Mumbai: Three members of a family from Sion died along with their driver when the speeding red Alto in which they were travelling collided with a 12-wheel trailer near Katraj tunnel on the Pune-Bangalore Express Highway early on Monday morning. The family’s head, Dr Yashwant Pandurang Mane (47), was returning to Mumbai after dropping off his daughter, who studies in Satara, at her medical college. A neighbour of the Manes, Dr Ujjawal Rane, said he was the first person to have spoken to the police regarding the accident. He expressed his grief, stating that Mane’s daughter, Shubhangi (22), was unaware about the tragedy.
Apart from Mane, his wife Sharada (40), son Hrishikesh (20) and driver Ramchandra Surve died in the accident. The police suspects that Hrishikesh, who was behind the wheel at the time of the mishap, could have hit the trailer from behind as he may have been sleepy.
Police inspector Kamala-kar Takwale of the Bharati Vidyapith police station said, “The family had gone to Man village to attend a fair. They also dropped Shubhangi to her college at Mayani.”
He added, “Hrishikesh was driving the car when it collided into the heavy vehicle, which was carrying iron rods two kilometres away from Katraj Tunnel near Pune. We had to extract the car with the help of a crane. The doors had caved in and we had to take the help of mechanics to open them.”
He added, “We immediately shifted their bodies to Sassoon General Hospital in Pune, but the doctor declared them ‘brought dead’. The bodies were mangled and we suspect that they must have died on the spot. The post-mortem report confirmed that they succumbed to multiple injuries. The bodies were later handed over to Mane’s brother. We have lodged FIR against Hrishi-kesh under the Motor Vehicle Act and IPC for driving rashly, causing death of three others.”
Dr Rane said it he had called Mane about the demise of woman in their building when, to his surprise, a policeman answ-ered his call. “I was shocked to hear about the mishap,” he said.
Dr Mane, a private practitioner, was a renowned pathologist in his area. Ekta Shah, a neighbour, said, “Uncle was so kind. Being a doctor, he was so down to earth.”
