Mumbai: A case has been registered by the police against Santosh Thakur and 10 others for the rasta roko at Panvel near Karnala on Friday to protest an accident in which a 28-year-old woman was killed. While Mr. Thakur has alleged the accident was due to the road’s poor condition, police are claiming the victim, Bhagyashree Shinde, overtook the trailer involved in the mishap from the wrong side.
Mr. Thakur said, “Instead of taking action against the authority responsible for maintaining the road, they are targeting those who are demanding action. This is nothing but politics. The girl’s bike skidded on sand spread on the road, causing her to lose her balance, fall on the road and come under the trailer’s wheels.”
Senior PI Maloji Shinde, Panvel Taluka police station, said, “This stretch of road is being widened, but no work was being done at the accident spot. There aren’t even potholes to hold the contractor responsible. According to the trailer driver and our investigations, the girl tried to overtake the trailer from the wrong side and came under its rear wheels.”
ACP (Panvel Zone) Prakash Nilewad reiterated Mr. Shinde’s claims, adding there will no case against the road contractor. “The bike uses by the girl was new and did not have a registration number. Mr. Thakur and 10 others have been booked and will be soon arrested for causing inconvenience and blocking the highway, which led to a traffic jam, without permission,” he said.
Bhagyashree, a Ghansoli resident, died in the accident on the Mumbai-Gia highway at Bandhanwadi village near Karnala in Panvel. The mishap took place around 8.30 a.m. on Friday when she was returning from her hometown of Apta, Pen where she had gone for Ganeshotsav. She was employed with Airtel and was riding a new two-wheeler.