3 killed, 2 injured after four-wheeler falls from bridge on moving goods train

According to police, the driver of the Innova car lost control and rammed onto the railing of the railway bridge, and fell from the bridge onto the goods carrier that was passing underneath

Navi Mumbai: Three people, including the Raigad district spokesperson for the Republican Party of India, died, while two were severely injured after their four-wheeler lost control and fell onto a moving cargo train on Tuesday in Karjat.

The incident occurred around 4 am when the five of them were heading towards Neral from Panvel, crossing a railway bridge at Kiravali village. (HT Photo)

The incident occurred around 4 am when the five of them were heading towards Neral from Panvel, crossing a railway bridge at Kiravali village, while the freight train from Panvel was going to Pune via Karjat.

According to police, the driver of the Innova car lost control and rammed onto the railing of the railway bridge, and fell from the bridge onto the goods carrier that was passing underneath.

“It is not clear who was driving the car as among the five, three have died and two are unconscious. Hence, we have registered the case against the driver without mentioning any name,” Surendra Garad, police inspector, Karjat police station, said.

The deceased have been identified as Dharmanand Yashwant Gaikwad, 42, from Neral, and his cousins Mangesh Matya Jadhav, 46, from Dhobi Ghat, and Nitin Maruti Jadhav, 48, from Naupada in Thane.

Gaikwad was a senior journalist working with a Marathi daily newspaper and an activist and spokesperson for RPI.

The injured are Jaywant Chandrakant Hable, a journalist from Neral, and Santosh Sakharam Jadhav, a resident of Karjat.

“We, along with the Railway Police Force team, reached the spot and got the vehicle removed from over the train with the help of a crane. It took around three and a half hours for the car to get cleared. The last three compartments of the goods train were decoupled and repaired and then joined back onto the train, and then the train moved ahead,” Sambhaji Yadav, government railway police, Karjat, said.

All five were taken to Karjat sub-district hospital, where three were declared dead upon arrival, and the other two were taken to MGM Hospital.

The driver of the car has been booked under sections 304A (causing death by negligence), 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), and 338 (Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code and sections under the Motor Vehicle Act.