3-yr-old among 7 dead in head-on collision of car with bike in Nashik

Dindori police stated that preliminary information suggests that the accident was caused by the driver losing control of the car

Three families returning joyfully from a birthday party at a relative’s house in Nashik had their lives tragically cut short before they could reach their homes, as the Alto car they were travelling in collided head-on with a bike in the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) area in Dindori tehsil on Wednesday night at around 11:30pm.

According to the police, the two people on the motorcycle were seriously injured and are currently undergoing treatment at the Nashik District Hospital. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

The impact of the collision was so intense that the car veered off the road, overturned, and plunged into a roadside drain filled with water, resulting in the death of the seven occupants, trapped inside the submerged car, one of them a three-year-old boy, Bhavesh.

Dindori police have identified the deceased as Devidas Pandit Gangurde (28), his wife Manisha Gangurde (23), and their two-year-old son Bhavesh, all residents of Sarasale; Uttam Eknath Jadhav (42) and his wife Alka Jadhav (38), residents of Kosimbhe; and Dattatraya Namdeo Waghmare (45) and his wife Anusaya Waghmare (40), residents of Devpur, Devthan.

According to the police, the two people on the motorcycle were seriously injured and are currently undergoing treatment at the Nashik District Hospital. They have been identified as Mangesh Yashwant Kurghade (25) and Ajay Jagannath Gond (18), current residents of Bhola, Pimpalgaon-Satpur.

Dindori police stated that preliminary information suggests that the accident was caused by the driver losing control of the car. Dindori superintendent of police (SP), Balasaheb Patil, said, “Too many people were crammed inside the small car. The tyres were also worn out and one of these burst leading to the accident. The deceased were from an Adivasi community and were returning home from a birthday celebration. An accident-related case has been registered.”

Former Dindori municipal council president Kailas Maval visited the accident spot and later met the families of the deceased. He claimed that the bodies have been sent for post-mortem and will be handed over to the families later in the day.

Dindori police inspector Raghunath Shengar said that they were examining the possibilities of over-speeding, negligence and poor road conditions as contributing factors to the accident. “We will record the statements of the injured motorcyclists, which will shed more light on the sequence of events,” he said.

The accident has sent shockwaves through Sarasale, Kosimbhe and Devthan , the villages where the deceased lived. Villagers have demanded better lighting and road safety measures along the Dindori-Nashik route which, according to them, has been witnessing frequent accidents.