Five years after husband’s death, Diva woman loses 3 children to Kalyan-Murbad highway accident that left 11 dead

Kalyan: A Diva-based widow lost three of her five children in the road accident on the Kalyan–Murbad highway on Monday morning that left 11 dead.Anjana Mohape, a domestic worker, lost two of her daughters, Neha (19) and Mansi (22), and 15-year-old son, Prathamesh, in the accident. The family had already endured tragedy five years ago when Anjana's husband, Laxman, had died of cancer, leaving her to single-handedly raise their five children.Since then, Anjana has been working in households to support her family and ensure the children's education. One of her daughters is married, while the remaining four children were pursuing their studies. Neha had recently appeared for her Class 12 exams, Mansi had completed her graduation, and Prathamesh had just taken his SSC exams.On Monday morning, the three siblings had set out for their native village in Murbad for Mansi and Prathamesh's summer vacation. They travelled from Diva to Kalyan by train and then boarded a shared taxi for the onward journey — that ended in tragedy.Mahesh Mohape, Prathamesh's cousin, who was called to identify the bodies at Goveli, said the family is still struggling to process the loss. "Five years ago, we lost my uncle to cancer. Since then, my aunt has been working tirelessly to raise and educate all five children. This is an unimaginable tragedy for us," he told TOI.The accident has similarly devastated other families.Ganpati Madhe, a farmer from Murbad, was among those killed. He had travelled to Kalyan to purchase medicines prescribed for his wife and was returning home when the accident occurred. "He was the sole earning member of the family. Now, who will take care of them?" asked a relative, Devaki, highlighting the uncertainty looming over the family.Deepak Gavli (26), a resident of Tisgaon in Kalyan, worked in the recovery section of a private bank. He was on his way to Murbad for work when the accident took place. At the Goveli primary health centre, where the bodies were brought for postmortem, his mother was inconsolable. Relatives said Deepak lived with his parents and younger brother, and was the family's key support.Among the deceased was Bhushan Ghorpade (49), a revenue assistant posted at the Murbad tehsildar's office. Ghorpade would spend weekdays in Murbad for work and weekends with his wife and two children at their Andheri residence. On Monday, he was travelling for duty when he lost his life.The police, though, are yet to identify two deceased as they have been unable to find any identity or address proof or a mobile phone.As families gathered at hospitals and the postmortem centre, scenes of grief and anguish unfolded, underscoring the human cost of the incident that has shaken the region.