Scooterist falls in ditch dug for railway over-bridge, dies

PUNE: A 26-year-old two-wheeler rider died after his vehicle fell into a ditch dug up for the construction of a railway over-bridge (ROB) at Manjari Budruk early on Saturday morning.



The deceased, identified as Satish Dnyaneshwar Pise, was returning to his home in Hadapsar, from Shikrapur, when he failed to the notice the 10-foot ditch in the dark and fell into it. He had suffered multiple injuries. He was not wearing a helmet.

The incident came to light after Santosh Rathod, a local resident, discovered Pise’s body and alerted the Pune police control room at around 9am. A police team, with the help of locals, pulled out Pise’s body and rushed him to a government hospital in Wanowrie. He was, however, proclaimed “dead on arrival” by the doctors.

The Hadapsar police have booked state public works department (PWD) contractor SV Patel and site supervisor Suraj Patil under Sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code. The stringent charges were invoked after investigations revealed that the contractor and the supervisor had failed to take adequate safety measures to prevent accidents at the work site.

Sunil Tambe, the senior inspector in-charge of the Hadapsar police station, said, “Pise was employed as a driver with a private company. He was heading towards Hadapsar. Pise was passing through Manjri Budruk when his vehicle fell into the ditch. We suspect the accident might have taken place between 1 am and 4 am on Saturday morning. We have booked Patel and Patil because they had failed to cover the ditch with barricades and install reflectors to prevent accidents.”

“The contractor and site engineer could not be arrested because they were not present at the construction site when a police team went there to conduct investigations,” Tambe added.

Kishore Pise, the victim’s brother who is also a driver, said, “I came to know about the accident from the police. I was asked to go to the hospital and there I found out that my brother was no more. I had given the scooter to Satish. He is survived by his wife and two young children — a three-year-old son and one-year-old daughter. I will now take care of his children.”

Meanwhile, talking to TOI, N M Ransingh, PWD’s (south division) assistant engineer, said “The contractor had covered the fourth ditch with a tin shed, but the vehicle fell inside from the opening near the edge. We have now asked the contractor to cover the ditches with barricades and put reflectors to prevent accidents.”