Victim run over by unidentified vehicle on Pashan Road-Panchavati stretch; police scan CCTV to trace accused
Victim, Asha Vijaykumar Patil. Pic/By Special Arrangement
A routine morning walk turned fatal for Asha Vijaykumar Patil, 73, who was allegedly run over by an unidentified vehicle on the Pashan Road-Panchavati-NCL stretch early Saturday, January 24, in a suspected hit-and-run case.
Speaking to mid-day, her son Atul Patil, 51, said his mother had followed the same routine for over 10 years. “She would leave home around 5.30 am and return by 6.30-6.45 am. On Saturday, she went alone,” he said. Patil added that his mother regularly walked in the Panchavati and NCL areas, as well as along Pashan Road, and was well-known in the neighbourhood.
When Asha did not return even after 7 am, her husband, Vijay Patil, 83, searched her usual routes but could not find her. Soon after, the family learnt through WhatsApp messages that an elderly woman had been injured near University-Pashan Road, opposite Asara Mandir, and taken to Sassoon General Hospital. “When we saw the photo being circulated, we identified her and rushed to Sassoon,” Atul said.
Doctors told the family that she had been brought in by a 108 ambulance but had died before treatment could begin. Police later conducted an inquest and sent the body for a post-mortem. The preliminary cause of death was recorded as “multiple injuries”. An FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Motor Vehicles Act for rash and negligent driving and failure to render assistance.
Atul said passers-by and cyclists helped his mother after the accident and alerted the police. “We were told she was hit around 5.55 am. The ambulance arrived around 6.23 am, and the police reached the spot around 6.29 am. I lodged the FIR at about 9.30 pm,” he said.
Patil also pointed out what he described as disturbing gaps in the sequence of events. “There were no tyre skid marks at the spot. Normally, if a driver notices someone ahead, there are signs of braking. In this case, it appears the vehicle did not slow down at all. Later, police found blood at the spot,” he said.
Amol Dhas, assistant police inspector, Chaturshringi police station, told mid-day, “Based on the routes shared by the family, we believe she may have been crossing the road when she was hit by an unidentified vehicle. There are no CCTV cameras in the internal lane, but we are checking footage from nearby roads and junctions. Efforts are on to trace the vehicle and identify the accused.”
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