Truck mows down 2 in Dhule

Nashik: A 40-year-old woman and a 54-year-old man died after being run over by a murrum-laden truck on Wednesday morning in Khalane village of Dhule's Shindkheda taluka , 220km from Nashik.

The deceased have been identified as Ashabai Bhil of Khalane village, and Maka Pawara, a worker from another village who had come to Khalane for work, said the Shindkheda police.

The truck driver, fearing a beating from the agitated residents following the accident, fled the scene but later surrendered at the Songir police station.

The truck, carrying murrum, was travelling from Bhabale Phata towards Chimthana, to the construction site of a road between Dondiacha and Songir in Dhule district.

Inspector Dnyaneshwar Ware of the Shindkheda police station said the driver apparently lost control of the vehicle, causing the truck to ram into the bus stand. "Ashabai Bhil died on the spot, while Maka Pawara succumbed to his injuries while being transported to the Shindkheda rural hospital. Three other accident victims were initially taken to the rural hospital, but have since been shifted to a private hospital in Dhule," said Ware.

A case of causing death due to negligence will be registered against the truck driver, said the inspector. In the aftermath of the accident, residents of Khalane blocked the road in protest. Ware and other police personnel persuaded the villagers to maintain peace, leading to the withdrawal of the protest and the clearance of the road for traffic.