Pune: A 28-year-old man died on Friday after a speeding army school bus grazed his scooter at Shastrinagar Chowk in Yerawada around 12.15pm.
The victim, Anil Ojha from Kharadi, worked for a foreign insurer in Yerawada. He was on his way to office on the scooter without wearing a helmet.
Yerawada police's assistant inspector Gurudutt More said, "The scooter and the bus were heading towards Yerawada from the Chandannagar side. The left side of the bus hit the hand of Anil. He fell and suffered injuries on head, face and lips. He was rushed to the Sassoon General Hospital, where doctors declared him dead."
The victim's body was handed over to his parents after post-mortem.
Eyewitness Tukaram Jadhav (25) from Daund told TOI, "The left side of the bus brushed the scooter and Anil fell near the left turn to Kalyaninagar. Blood oozed out from his face and head. I stopped my bike, called an ambulance and rushed him to the hospital, but he succumbed to multiple injuries. The bus driver stopped hearing a loud noise. I later lodged an FIR."
The victim's father, Jaikrishna Ojha, said, "Anil left home saying 'Jai Mataji' around 12.05pm, but he forgot his wallet and identity card. My wife called him several times from 12.20pm, thinking he might face problem at the office if the card was not delivered to him. But there was no response. Around 12.50pm, an ambulance driver picked up the phone and informed us he had met with an accident. He asked us to rush to the hospital. He was no more when we reached there."
He said, "Anil, my youngest son, was a science graduate. He did diploma courses and came to Pune from Ara in Bihar after he got a job four years ago. We shifted to Pune because Anil insisted we stayed with him," he said. Assistant inspector More said, "We have booked the driver, Ashok Eknath Babar (39), from Nagar Road under sections 279 (rash driving) and 304(a) [causing death due to negligence] of IPC among other charges of the Motor Vehicles Act."
Inspector Ashok Kadam said, "The bus left from an army unit here and was on its way to pick up schoolkids from Khadki. The driver will be chargesheeted at the earliest."
The bus was affiliated to 3 Signals group workshop. A senior army officer said, "Prime facie investigation has revealed that the deceased person might have banged on the vehicle from the rear as his body was found on the rear side of it. Second, the vehicle was going ahead (entering the campus). An internal inquiry has been ordered. If it reveals the driver was at fault, he will face stringent punished."
(With inputs from Sandip Dighe)
