Four men riding a motorcycle were killed after a Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) bus allegedly rammed into their vehicle in Junnar taluka of Pune district on Sunday night, police said.
The accident took place near Jivandeep Hotel in Dingore village at around 8 pm on the Ahilyanagar–Kalyan highway. The MSRTC bus was operating on the Vitthalwadi–Pathardi route when it collided with the motorcycle, officials said.
The deceased were identified as Ashish Dhawalu Bhale (24), Deepak Sakharam Bhale (28), Shivram Narayan Pardhi (26), and Khandu Narayan Bhale (25), all residents of Dingore village, as per reports.
Bus driver detained, FIR registered
According to reports, the four victims were travelling from Otur towards Dingore when the accident occurred. All four sustained severe injuries and died in the crash.
Police have detained the bus driver and registered an FIR against him at Otur police station. Further investigation into the incident is underway, officials said.
Eight killed after SUV falls into gorge in Raigad
Eight people were killed after an SUV plunged into a deep gorge in Maharashtra’s Raigad district, police said on Monday, reported PTI.
The accident took place in the Ambenali Ghat section on the Poladpur–Mahabaleshwar road between 5 am and 6 am on Sunday. The vehicle was located in the gorge on Monday morning after relatives of the victims alerted the police when the group failed to reach their destination in Satara district.
According to police, the victims had left Harne in Dapoli around 2 am in the SUV. Concern grew after they lost contact and did not arrive in Satara as expected. Family members began searching for them before approaching the authorities, reported PTI.
Mobile tower data helped trace last location
During the investigation, police tracked the victims’ last known location through mobile tower data near Poladpur. A search operation was subsequently launched in the Ambenali Ghat stretch, where the SUV was spotted nearly 800 feet below the road in a gorge, reported PTI.
Police suspect the driver lost control of the vehicle while navigating the ghat section, causing it to plunge into the ravine.
Rescue teams, including local disaster management personnel, were deployed at the site. Officials said two bodies were initially recovered, while three more victims had been traced during the ongoing operation. Later, police confirmed that all eight occupants had died in the accident.
Victims identified
The deceased have been identified as Ritesh Lokhande (22), Suhas Lokhande (20), Utkarsh Shingte (21), Nikhil Shingte (25), Mahesh Pawar (25), Aditya Salunkhe (21), Rajesh Katkar (35), all residents of Satara district, and Ansh Chavan (19), a resident of Ratnagiri district, reported PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)