Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday ordered a probe into a road accident on the Samruddhi Expressway which claimed 12 lives. The kin of each of the deceased will get a compensation of Rs five lakh from the state government, Shinde said. A speeding mini-bus hit a container truck in Vaijapur area on the Samruddhi Expressway in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in the early hours of Sunday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 23 others, as per police.President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief over the loss of lives in the accident. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in a post on X said an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) would be given to the next of kin of each deceased and the injured persons would be given Rs 50,000. Chief Minister Shinde termed the incident as unfortunate and in a post on X said he has given directives to find out reasons behind the fatal accident near Vaijapur. Orders have also been given to take strict action against those found responsible for it, he said.
The state government will bear the expenses of treatment of the injured persons, the CM added. State Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a message on X said the injured persons were admitted to Ghati civil hospital in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city, while some of the injured persons were being treated at the Vaijapur hospital. The Regional Transport Office (RTO) at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has commenced an inquiry into the accident, an official said. Leader of Opposition in the state legislative council Ambadas Danve claimed the mini-bus collided with the truck after an RTO team stopped the truck. Vehicles should be checked by the RTO after they cross the interchange toll and before entering the expressway, the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader said. A team of the RTO stopped the running truck on the expressway, therefore the minibus collided with the truck, Danve said in a post on X, while terming the accident as "manmade".