Mumbai-Goa accident: Case filed against truck driver

MUMBAI: Five persons were killed on Mumbai-Goa Highway after a trailer and a truck crashed into each other and then a biker hit the trailer at a spot between

Lonere

and

Mangaon

on Thursday.

The deceased biker, Tushar Gawde (33), is survived by his wife, a four-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter.

The four other deceased include truck driver Zahid Khan (25), cleaner Shakeel Khan (20), both residents of Alapur in Alwar district, Rajasthan, trailer driver

Surendra Rawat

(25) and cleaner Punamchand Rawat (19), both residents of Daulatpur, Ajmer district, Rajasthan.

Goregaon police inspector VS Jagtap said, “The heavy vehicles caught fire and the fire brigade had to be pressed into service. The spot is isolated. The fire might have been caused by a short-circuit or engine oil. A case has been registered against truck driver Zahid Khan (25).”

Jagtap added, “Relatives of the deceased have arrived and the process of handing over the bodies to them is on. Viscera sample of each of the bodies has been reserved for testing.”

State highway traffic patrol sub-inspector Baban

Andhale

said, “The Haryana-registered truck loaded with tiles was plying towards Goa. The bodies were charred as the victims were trapped inside the vehicles.”

Truck driver Zahid Khan has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 304(A) for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, 279 for rash driving, and 337 and 338 for endangering life or personal safety of others, besides section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act for driving dangerously.

According to Goregaon police, the Rajasthan-registered trailer was on its way from Chiplun to JNPT and was empty.

Andhale added, “The highway was completely shut till 7am. The traffic stretched up to few hundred metres on both directions. The fire brigade was pressed into service. We towed one of the vehicles to clear one way for traffic movement, and by 9am traffic movement was restored to normal.”

Arelative of Gawde told mediapersons that he used to take Unegaon Road to travel to his office. He had finished night duty on Wednesday and had a second shift on Thursday. He had sought the first shift due to some work and unfortunately took the Goa highway.