4-year-old girl injured after being allegedly hit by car linked to MLA

A 4-year-old girl was injured by a car linked to MLA Dnyaneshwar Katke while crossing the road. Eyewitnesses claim he didn't stop to help.

PUNE: A girl, 4, was injured after being allegedly hit by a Mercedes car linked to MLA Dnyaneshwar Katke on the Pune-Ahilyanagar highway near Borhademala in Shirur taluka on Sunday.

(Shutterstock)

The mishap occurred when Katke was returning from a local body election campaign event. According to eyewitnesses, the child was crossing the road with her father when she was struck by the vehicle. Such was the impact that she was reportedly flung several feet away and sustained facial fractures, broken teeth and deep injuries to her jaw and mouth. Local residents rushed her to a private hospital in Shirur which in turn referred her to Kem Hospital in Pune due to the severity of her injuries. Former MLA Ashok Pawar said that the girl was in an extremely critical condition when she arrived at the hospital. “I personally ensured that she was admitted and spoke to the doctors,” he said, adding that elected representatives should have stopped to help the girl and her family instead of continuing with their campaign duties. Pawar also alleged that Katke did not stop at the site despite the accident having occurred close to his convoy.

Meanwhile, Katke denied all allegations, saying that the accident took place while he was travelling from Nhawara to Shirur. He claimed that the child suddenly ran onto the road without her parents. “My car was behind another vehicle. The child came in front of the convoy unexpectedly. The driver slowed down but there was a small impact,” he said.

Katke maintained that his team helped take the girl to the hospital while rejecting all allegations of suppressing information as ‘baseless’. Katke said that the girl had no fractures and was referred to Pune as a precautionary measure. He urged people not to spread false narratives ahead of elections.

The girl’s father, Pandharinath Borhade, said, “MLA Katke offered immediate help to my daughter but some people are politicising the issue. I request people not to politicise the issue.”

Prashant Dhole, sub-divisional officer (Shirur division), said that no offence has been registered as no complaint has been filed.