17-year-old girl crushed to death

BHANDARA : A 17-year-old student of Mahatma Gandhi Junior College, Kondha Kosara, was crushed to death while three others were seriously injured after being hit by a new pickup van on Wednesday morning.
Students of the college were crossing Bhandara-Paoni state highway when the van driver lost control and crushed Swati Maidalkar to death on the spot. Akshay Tulaskar (17), Nikhil Deshmukh (16) and Akash Deshmukh (17), all residents of village Akot, sustained grievous injuries and were rushed to Government General Hospital. Enraged villagers then burned the vehicle and staged a ‘rasta roko’ that affected traffic. Police resorted to mild lathicharge after villagers pelted stones at the fire brigade personnel who doused the fire.
Shiv Sena ex-MLA Narendra Bhondekar and other leaders visited Kondha Kosara and tried to pacify the crowd, but to no avail. The villagers have demanded compensation to the bereaved family from the district collector fund.