In an unfortunate incident, a truck crushed nine people sleeping on a footpath in Maharashtra's Pune, the police said. While three, including two toddlers, were killed, six were injured in the accident which took place during the wee hours of Monday.
According to the information, the incident occurred at around 12.30 am on the footpath in the Wagholi area where several persons were sleeping. The police said that the truck driver was detained from the site after the accident.
Reacting to the accident, Shirur MLA Dnyaneshwar Aba Katke said, "This incident is very unfortunate... two children and a 22-year-old man were killed. The driver was drunk and he crushed 9 people... We will have to construct roads properly. If the government takes no solid steps, we will stage a protest."
What did police say?
Providing details about the accident, a senior police official said that most of the victims were labourers. The police were checking whether the driver was under the influence of alcohol. He said, "There were many people sleeping on the footpath near Kesnand Phata area, most of them were labourers. They were run over by a truck, leading to the death of three persons."
"We have detained the driver. We are checking if he was under the influence of alcohol. Further investigation is on," the official added. The police have identified the deceased as Vishal Pawar (22), Vaibhav Pawar (2) and Vaibhavi Pawar (1). The officials added that the six injured were rushed to the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune City, where their treatment was underway.
Meanwhile, DCP Zone 4 Himmat Jadhav, Pune City Police said, "Three people including two toddlers died and six others were injured after a dumper truck ran over them while they were sleeping on the footpath in Wagholi Chowk area of Pune city last night around 1 AM. The driver who was under the influence of alcohol has been arrested under relevant sections of Motor Vehicles Act and BNS for further investigation."
(With inputs from agencies)
