Eight, including seven of family, killed in mishap

AMRAVATI/AKOLA: In a devastating blow, the Jain family of Amravati lost as many as seven of its members after the Tata Sumo they were travelling in rammed into a stationary trailer on Tuesday morning. The driver of the car also died in the mishap that took place on a new bypass near Ridhora village on Akola-Balapur road (NH-6) around 4am.
Sagar, 32, Minu, 30, Santosh, 65, Subodh, 60, Sandhya, 60, Minal, 35, and Pari, 2 of the Jain family and Rahul Deshmukh, driver of the Tata Sumo, are the names of the deceased.
The family members were heading to Chalisgaon to attend the last rites of Santosh Jain's son-in-law Dr Santosh Junturkar, who stayed in Surat. His body had been brought to Chalisgaon for the funeral and the entire family was heading there.
In the wee hours of Tuesday, the driver lost control over the steering and the car rammed into a stationary trailer. All eight occupants died on the spot.
The family owned a grocery shop at Chitra Square locality in Amravati. Sources said only two persons from the family, Vrishabh Jain and Saurabh Jain, survive now. Vrishabh had left for Chalisgaon before the entire family while Saurabh lives in Pune.
The new bypass was opened to traffic by Shiv Sena MLC Gopichand Bajoriya and BRP-BMS MLA Haridas Bhade in a private function. However, the state government has yet to officially open the bypass.