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Unfortunate: Ranchhorlal, Rani and Prakash Hemdev died in an accident on Saturday on the Aurangabad-Shirdi Express Highway. Their car lost control, as there were no streetlights or signboards on the road. |
The spot, at the junction of Sawansar village in Kopergaon taluka, has seen 16 accidents over the last two years, the latest being one that killed four members of a Mumbai family on August 16.
The last accident
According to Inspector Saukat Shaikh of Kopergaon police, the Hemdevs from Girgaum, who are in the stock trading business, were on their way from Shirdi to Ghrushneshwar temple in Verul (Ellora) when the accident occurred. While Ranchhorlal Hemdev (68), Rani (60), their son Prakash (45) and son-in-law Sunil Shah (49) were in one car, Prakash's daughter Pooja, his wife Jaya, Sunil's wife Neha and their son Rohan, were in another car.
Locals said Prakash, who was driving the car that crashed, probably lost control, as there were no streetlights or signboards and he was unable to spot the crater. The car went over the divider and rammed into an under-construction circle at the junction.
The injured were rushed to a nearby civic hospital, where Prakash and Rani were declared dead on admission. Ranchhorlal and Sunil succumbed to their injuries the next morning.
Trouble for MSRDC
Arundhati Sharma, executive engineer, MSRDC, Aurangabad, "We have already stacked the reflectors, sign boards, etc, which will be put up shortly. But the accidents happening at the spot cannot be attributed to the on-going work." When asked about the lack of streetlights on the highway, she said they did not fall under the purview of MSRDC.
The relatives of some of the deceased have now sought legal action against MSRDC. A family member,
however, refused to comment on the subject.
