Helmetless pillion rider dies in accident at Kalyaninagar

PUNE: A 22-year-old man riding pillion on a motorcycle died of head injuries in an accident on South Avenue in Kalyaninagar on Thursday afternoon.


Mohammad Najim (22) — originally from Nepal — was killed instantly, while the rider, 21-year-old Iqraz Shaikh of Bihar, was unhurt. Both men — who install bird netting at housing societies for a living — were not wearing helmets at the time of the accident.

The duo were on their way from Hadapsar to Yerawada and had turned left from Aga Khan Bridge onto South Avenue, where barricades have been put up to facilitate the Metro rail work.

They were headed towards Shastrinagar Chowk when Shaikh tried to overtake a truck from the right side. At that moment, an autorickshaw driving in the wrong direction clipped Najim’s right leg. “In the confusion, the truck too swerved to the right and grazed their bike,” assistant inspector Balbhim Nanaware of the Yerawada police said.

The truck driver applied brakes immediately, but Najim lost balance and fell under the truck — between its front and the rear tyres — and hit his head on the ground, sustaining multiple head injuries. “Shaikh did not get a chance to move out of the way as the Metro barricades blocked his path,” Nanaware said.

Najim was rushed to a private hospital in Yerawada, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His body was sent back to Nepal, via Bihar, for the last rites.

“We have seized the truck and arrested the driver, Pundalik Namdeo Kokate (51) of Khed, under charges of rash driving and causing the victim’s death due to negligence, under the Indian Penal Code and Motor Vehicles Act,” Nanaware added.

“Both the vehicles are at fault,” Shaikh told TOI. “I wear a helmet every day, but forgot to wear it on Thursday as we were in a hurry to meet someone,” he added.

“Najim was returning home (in Sangamwadi) after installing iron mesh on the windows of a housing society in Phursungi,” Irshad Shaikh, Najim’s roommate, told TOI.

Residents were quick to blame the Metro work, which has been the subject of protests for sometime. “The fatal accident occurred because of the (Metro) barricades, which have reduced the road width. We have taken up the issue with the local MLA and guardian minister (Girish Bapat), but nothing has been done,” activist Anand Sarvade said.

“We have demanded that the project be executed between Yerawada and Ramwadi via Ahmednagar Road. Under the current alignment, residents of Maharashtra Housing Board and Nagpur Chawl will have to travel an extra two kilometres,” Sarvade added.