Former health minister Dr Deepak Sawant injured in road accident

Mumbai: Former state health minister Dr Deepak Sawant was injured after his SUV was hit by a dumper on Friday morning on the Ghodbunder-Thane Road while he was on his way to Palghar’s Savarde village, where two infants died due to malnutrition

Mumbai: Former state health minister Dr Deepak Sawant was injured after his SUV was hit by a dumper on Friday morning on the Ghodbunder-Thane Road while he was on his way to Palghar’s Savarde village, where two infants died due to malnutrition.

Former health minister Dr Deepak Sawant injured in road accident

The police said the accident took place on Friday around 11.15am near a temple in Kashmira and Dr Sawant was admitted to the Criticare Hospital in Andheri. Doctors attending on him said that he has injuries on his neck and head and there was slight bleeding in the head. There is numbness in his right arm and right leg.

The driver of the dumper, Irshad Khan has been detained in the matter.

According to the police, Dr Sawant and his driver Vinod Kumar Nittu Saroj were headed to Palghar’s Savarde village in his Honda Mobilio.

“They stopped at the red signal at Sagnai Temple Naka in Kashmira and the dumper was right behind them. As the signal was about to turn green, the dumper driver started his vehicle, jumped the signal and rammed into Dr Sawant’s SUV,” said senior police inspector, Sandeep Kadam of Kashmira police station.

Kadam added that the vehicle of the former minister was badly damaged from the rear side and pushed aside by the vehicle. A biker and auto driver also were hit by the dumper.

The local traffic police immediately called for an ambulance and rushed Dr Sawant to Orbit Hospital, Kashmira. However, he called for a private vehicle and he was taken to Criticare Hospital in Andheri.

“The dumper driver has been identified and detained by the police while he was trying to flee and we are in the process of registering an offence in the matter,” said Kadam.

Dr Deepak Sawant was MLC from Shiv Sena and also appointed as cabinet minister for public health department during 2014 to 2018 in then chief minister Devendra Fadanvis’s government. He was dropped from the cabinet after he was denied ticket for legislative council by Shiv Sena in 2018.

This is the sixth political leader to meet with an accident in the last few days. Earlier, Bacchu Kadu, Yogesh Kadam, Jaykumar Gore, Dhananjay Munde, Bharat Gogawale had met with an accident. Last year, in an unfortunate incident, ex-MLC Vinayak Mete died in an accident in Raigad district.