A college event on the occasion of Shiv Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji, turned into a tragedy as five students were killed and 29 injured in a horrific accident early on Monday morning.
The accident took place at Nagaon village, Kolhapur district, and involved two-wheelers and an open pick-up ferrying the students being hit by a speeding truck.
The five deceased were identified as Pravin Trilotkar, 23, Sumit Kulkarni, 23, Ketan Khochke, 21, Arun Bonde, 22, and Sushant Patil, 22 - all students of Walchand college in Sangli. The driver of the truck which hit them was identified as Sakharam Waman Dhanwar, 32, a resident of Ahmedpur region of Latur, according to the police.
The students were among a group of 40 others, who were travelling from Panhala fort on the outskirts of Kolhapur to Sangli when the accident occurred. The Walchand college students were returning with a ‘Shiv jyot’ (lamp) to mark the 388th birthday anniversary of Shivaji Maharaj, celebrated across the state on Monday.
“The four students carrying the lamp were riding on two motorbikes ahead of an Eicher open pick-up which was carrying 40 of their classmates. The oil in the lamp got over and they stopped to refill and the Eicher stopped behind them. A truck came speeding from behind, hit the pick-up, which in-turn hit the four on the bike, killing them instantly. One of the students from the pick-up also got killed,” said assistant police inspector (API) Parshuram Kamble, who is investigating the case.
{{/usCountry}}“The four students carrying the lamp were riding on two motorbikes ahead of an Eicher open pick-up which was carrying 40 of their classmates. The oil in the lamp got over and they stopped to refill and the Eicher stopped behind them. A truck came speeding from behind, hit the pick-up, which in-turn hit the four on the bike, killing them instantly. One of the students from the pick-up also got killed,” said assistant police inspector (API) Parshuram Kamble, who is investigating the case.
{{/usCountry}}The incident happened on the Pune-Bengaluru highway, which falls under the jurisdiction of Shiroli MIDC police station, Kolhapur police. Police and locals rushed to the rescue of the injured who were rushed to CPR Hospital.
A case under section 304 (Part 2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) and 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act was registered at Shiroli MIDC police station against the truck driver. is investigating the case.