Ganpati rush: Two dead in two accidents

While one accident happened in Powai when two friends were returning after the darshan, the other happened when a group of five people were travelling from Gujarat to the pandal.

MUMBAI: A 22-year-old man died on Friday after he was run over by a BEST bus in Powai. But BEST said the rider was trying to avoid a pothole when their bike slipped and the pillion rider came under its wheels.

A motorcyclist was trying to avoid a pothole when the bike slipped, causing the pillion rider to be crushed under a bus’s wheel. (Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times)

According to the police, the incident occurred at 6:30 am on Friday in Powai. Swapnil Vishwakarma, who was riding the bike, and Devansh Patel, both 22 years old, were on their way back home after visiting the Lalbaugcha Raja Ganpati pandal in Parel.

When they were in front of IIT gate, their bike were crushed between the divider and the speeding BEST bus, causing both of them to fall off the bike, according to the complaint filed. “The speeding bus’s rear tyre then ran over Patel’s head,” said a police officer. Some passersby rushed the two men to a nearby hospital, where Patel was declared dead, he added.

The police have booked the bus driver, Uttam Kumkar, for causing death due to negligence and culpable homicide not amounting to murder under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

According to the police, Hitesh Patel, 32, was travelling from Vadodara, Gujarat, to Parel to visit the Lalbaugcha Raja pandal with his friends and family. When they were in Mira Road, their car collided with a truck parked on the side of the road. “The truck was parked in a no-parking zone without any indicators and visibility was low due to rain,” said a police officer.

Patel died on the spot while his five relatives in the car were injured and are being treated at Orbit Hospital in Mira Road, he added.

A case has been registered against the accused truck driver, Suryabali Siddhanath Tiwari, 58, for criminal negligence.