3 of family die as auto falls into exposed nullah

BHIWANDI: Three members of a family, including a mother and daughter duo, were killed and four others sustained injuries after their autorickshaw fell into an under-construction nullah on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway in Thane's Bhiwandi area on Wednesday night.
The incident took place at around at 11.30pm near Bhumi World when autorickshaw driver Rakesh Chauhan (34) was returning home from Juhu Chowpatty along with his family. Following the accident, the Kongaon police have booked Titwala-based auto driver Chauhan for driving the vehicle at high speed and in a negligent way.
In the mishap, Chauhan's wife Munni (32), daughter Anshika (2) and sister-in-law Radha (33) died, while his son Ravi (11) and two daughters Ankita (7) and Anjali (9) have suffered injuries. All four are undergoing treatment at state-run IGM hospital in Bhiwandi.
Police said Chauhan's sister-in-law Radhika, who stays in Uttar Pradesh, had recently come to visit the family. Rajendra Pawar, senior PI, Kongaon police station, said, "When the rickshaw reached the highway near Bhumi World, Chauhan lost control of the speeding vehicle and it fell into the deep nullah."
Police said Rakesh somehow managed to wiggle out of the rickshaw and called for help. Initially, one person from a nearby scrap shop and another from a hotel heard his desperate calls for help and reached the spot. They then roped in other passersby and pulled out all seven family members from the nullah and rushed them to IGM hospital, where doctor declared three as brought dead.
Navnath Dhavale, DCP, Zone 2, said, "Primary probe revealed negligence on part of the driver, hence an FIR has been registered against him." Rickshaw unions, however, blamed MMRDA's contractor for not installing any barricades or proper signal system at the nullah construction site. "There aren't any proper lights either," said a rickshaw driver.