This is the second major accident on this expressway in a little over three months. A private sleeper coach bus had crashed into a pole and then the median in the high-speed corridor and caught fire on July 1. Twenty-six passengers were charred to death after the bus burst into flames.
People from nearby villages rushed to Sunday’s accident site to rescue the victims and assisted the police in the process of shifting the injured to the hospital.
The victims are all residents of Nashik city and rural areas and are related. They were returning after visiting the Sailani Baba Dargah in Buldhana district.
Vaijapur police inspector Shyamsundar Kavthale told TOI, “Six of the injured are being treated at Vaijapur sub-district hospital.”
Vaijapur police inspector Shyamsundar Kavthale told TOI: “The remaining 17 injured, including the mini-bus driver, have been referred to Government Medical College and Hospital, Aurangabad. Five men and six women are among the deceased, apart from the six-year-old girl.”
Bus Driver Claims He Did Not See The Truck
A police officer investigating the crash told TOI that the mini-bus driver, who survived with head injuries, has claimed that he did not spot the truck till it was suddenly in front and barely a few feet away. “His vehicle had crashed into the truck before he could apply brakes,” he added.
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s superintendent of police Maneesh Kalwaniya told TOI, “Based on the day-long investigation and the statements of all those related to this accident, it has been found that two officers of the RTO department stopped the truck on the Samruddhi highway, as a result of which, the minibus ended up ramming it. The two RTO officers are among three booked under IPC sections 304(2), 308, 337, 338, 427.” ”
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s officiating Regional Transport Officer Vijay Kathol said, “Neither vehicle involved in the accident was intercepted by our staffers. Our team had intercepted a goods carrier nearly 300m from the accident spot after we found that it was moving in a zig-zag manner and was being driven by its cleaner instead of the driver. Our staff was issuing a challan to the goods carrier when they heard a loud noise and found that the mini-bus had rammed into a truck.”
Kathole said they will submit their final report on the incident to the state government in 24 hours.
Modi shares grief; PMO and CM annouce ex gratia
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post on X, “Pained by the loss of lives due to an accident in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. My thoughts are with those who lost their loved ones. I wish the injured a speedy recovery.”
The Prime Minister’s Office announced an ex gratia of Rs2 lakh from PM National Relief Fund to the next of kin of each deceased and Rs50,000 to the injured.
Chief minister Eknath Shinde announced ex gratia of Rs5 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased and ordered a probe into the accident. “The government will bear the cost of the treatment of the injured,” Shinde said.
Ambadas Danve, leader of the opposition in the legislative council, who visited the accident site, spoke to several passengers. “The mini-bus had a permit to carry only 17 passengers, it was carrying around 35-40 people and nobody stopped the vehicle,” he said. Danve accused the state government of not learning any lessons from the past accidents on the Samruddhi expressway.
“Innocent people are dying on the expressway due to the fault of the government system. After the July 1 accident near Buldhana, the government had ordered thorough checks of vehicles plying on this expressway. Such a measure lasted hardly for weeks and corrupt practices paved the way for violations on the expressway, taking human lives,” he said. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s guardian minister Sandipan Bhumre and housing minister Atul Save visited the accident site and the hospital.
Watch Maharashtra: 12 killed, 23 injured in yet another accident on Samruddhi Expressway