Woman pedestrian dies in truck dash; another escaped unhurt

Lokmat News Network

Aurangabad, Sept 29:

A speeding truck, while attempting to overtake a container, has crushed to death a woman devotee at Bhaji Mandi in Pandharpur, today at 6 am. The deceased have been identified as Mangalbai Vithal Shahane (62, Cidco Waluj Mahanagar), while her colleague Subhadrabai Tulsiram Raut (43) escaped from the jaws of death.

It is learnt that Mangalbai and Subhadrabai stepped out of their homes to visit Vaishnavi Devi

temple in Waluj MIDC, today (on Thursday) at 5.45 am. Mangalbai’s husband Vithal Shahane was also with them till Tiranga Chowk and then he separated and proceeded for his morning walk. Both the ladies with pooja thalis in their hands were passing through the daily vegetable market in Pandharpur on foot. In the meantime, a speeding truck coming from Ahmednagar and heading to Aurangabad dashed these ladies at around 6 am. Mangalbai was pulled under the wheel and was dragged for a length of 25 to 30 feet. The heavy motor vehicle ran through her body. As a result, she died in pain on the spot. On other hand, Subhadrabai was thrown away with the dash of the speeding truck. She sustained injuries but was saved. The unidentified truck driver to evade his arrest by the people managed to disappear from the spot.

Muslim brethren and police extended succour

On learning about the accident, the Muslim brothers' Mufti Alim Pathan, Hafiz Abdul Rasheed, Rafiq Pathan, Isaac Pathan and others, came out of the Jama Masjid, after performing the early morning prayer (Fajr), and reached the accident spot with Ganesh Suryawanshi and others. They extended all possible help to these two accident victims. Later on, the PSI of Waluj MIDC police station Rajendra Bangar and his team along with Muslim brothers shifted the victims to 108 Ambulance for treatment in the Government Hospital.

The news of Mangalbai’s sudden demise spread like wildfire and a pall of gloom descended on Cidco Waluj Mahanagar. Her husband is an entrepreneur and runs a small unit (Rahul Industries in Waluj MIDC area) and is a native of Anwa village in Sillod. Mangalbai is survived by a husband, one son, one daughter and a daughter-in-law.

The eye-witness said, “ One container and one truck, both were speeding from Ahmednagar to Aurangabad, from the road. The truck driver hit these women at Bhaji Mandi while attempting to overtake the container. After the accident, the truck driver sped away, from Tiranga Chowk to the Waluj MIDC area. Meanwhile, the Waluj MIDC police have registered an offence in this regard. Further investigation is on by assistant police inspector M R Ghunawat.