NAVI MUMBAI: A 30-year-old traffic police constable, Atul Gagare, was killed in a hit-and-run incident in
Taloja MIDC area early on Wednesday. He was to return home after night duty to celebrate his daughter’s second birthday. Gagare’s widow, Shrushti, is a police constable on deputation with the Cidco’s anti-encroachment department.
“Around 3am, Gagare, who was on night duty at Taloja traffic chowky, got a call from the control room about a traffic snarl on the 2-km stretch from IGPL Company Chowk till Khoni village,” said senior inspector Rajendra Awadh of Taloja traffic unit. “While one constable was deployed at IGPL Company Chowk, Gagare rode till Khoni village and spent two hours streamlining the congestion of heavy vehicles. Around 4.45am, when he was returning to the chowky, an unidentified vehicle hit his bike and sped away.” Gagare was dragged for about 20m. Both his legs got crushed under the wheels of the vehicle. He died on the spot.
DCP (traffic) Sunil Lokhande said: “The crime branch is trying to identify the speeding vehicle that rammed into Gagare’s bike. It was probably a heavy motor vehicle, like a truck.”
Senior inspector Ajay Landge said, “Though a fatal accident case has been registered at Taloja police station, it is being probed whether Gagare was targeted. As there are no
CCTV cameras at the accident spot, we are trying to obtain footage from cameras along the stretch to identify the killer vehicle. We are also looking for any eyewitnesses.”
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