Bhadaj accident: driver surrenders

Ahmedabad: Ramesh Rathod, 30, a resident of Kapadvanj, Kheda, surrendered to A Division traffic police station on Friday. Rathod was driving the dumper with which a car carrying five youths collided early on Thursday morning. Three of the youths were charred to death on the spot after an explosion blast.
Rathod was named as accused in the case by the father of one of the survivors in an FIR with A Division traffic police station.

“Rathod has been driving the dumper for two years, for a private firm based in Kheda, for which he carries aggregate crushed stones for construction work on the MEGA project. On March 8, he was near Bhadaj at 2.15am when he felt an impact as a car had hit the dumper from behind at great speed. Soon, people started gathering at the spot. He got down and was approaching the car when it caught fire. Fearing a backlash from the public, he fled and informed his employer about the accident,” said an investigator.

A group of friends including Rahul Barad, 21, a resident of Prahladnagar; Romil Patva, 23, a resident of Navrangpura; Dhairya Patel, 23, a resident of Thaltej; Parth Pipavat, 23, a resident of Satellite and Maharshi Tripathi, 21, a resident of Bopal; was returning from a late meal when the car driven by Rahul hit the dumper. Rahul, Romil and Dhairya died in the accident while Parth and Maharshi are under treatment.

“We are waiting for the FSL report on the cause of the sudden fire in the car. It is suspected that due to the friction on impact, sparks may have caused a fire in the engine which soon reached the fuel tank, causing the blast,” said the official, adding that they are also trying to ascertain the speed of the car from the remnants at the spot and other factors.