Ellora ghat tragedy exposes police apathy

Chhattrapati Sambhajinagar

A tragic accident near Ellora Caves claimed two innocent lives on Thursday evening. Around 4 pm, a boiler being transported in an industrial tanker fell on the road after a head-on collision between an Eicher truck and a 16-tyre truck near Cave No. 1.

According to police, Kacharu Tribhuvan (42, Ellora) was riding motorcycle (MH-20 GP-1404) with his mother-in-law Chandrabagabai Bhalerao (65) of Khultabad. They were on their way to Khultabad when the collision occurred. At that moment, an Eicher truck (MH-42 AQ-9646) heading from Kannad to Sambhajinagar and a 16-tyre truck (MH-40 CQ-7355) going from Khultabad towards Kannad collided head-on. The boiler snapped loose and crushed the motorcycle, killing both on the spot. Social worker Sheikh Massiuddin, police constable Pramod Salvi, and others rushed them to Khultabad Rural Hospital, where doctors declared them dead. Police carried out a panchnama and sent the bodies for post-mortem. The tanker also rammed a Swift Dzire car carrying Sandeep Ghughe and his family from Mehegaon (Kannad tehsil) to Khultabad. The front portion of their car was crushed under the tanker, but since the tanker came to a halt, a major pile-up involving several other cars and motorcycles was narrowly avoided. The deaths of two innocent villagers, however, have left the entire Khultabad and Verul area in deep shock.

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Police Negligence

Shockingly, just a night earlier, thieves had looted an ATM near Ellora Cave No. 16. Several policemen were deployed for investigation, yet the heavy tanker slipped past without checks. With the Urs drawing crowds in Khultabad, locals shudder at what could have been a bigger catastrophe.

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Heavy Vehicle Ban Ignored

The road from Bhosale Chowk, Ellora, to Daulatabad T-point is officially closed to heavy vehicles. Despite this, the boiler-laden truck entered the ghat. Social activist Satish Devendra Lokhande has demanded strict action against officials for allowing this blatant violation during a high-security period.