A 51-year-old auto-rickshaw driver was killed on the spot after a speeding truck hit the three-wheeler at Malegaon village under Saoner Police Station limits, on Saturday. The accident triggered anger among villagers who resorted to Rasta Roko. Due to the road blockade, traffic movement was thrown out of gear on Nagpur-Chhindwara road (NH-547) for almost an hour.

 

The deceased has been identified as Indrajit Naththuji Nikose (51), a resident of Malegaon village. According to police, Nikose was driving his auto-rickshaw (MH-31/CV-5904) towards Nagpur. At the same time, a truck (RJ-09-GD-3397) coming from the Saoner side reportedly collided head-on with the auto-rickshaw near Malegaon. The impact of the collision was so severe that the auto-rickshaw was completely crushed, leaving the driver with fatal injuries. He died on the spot. Police officials including SDPO Sagar Kharde and PI Umesh Patil of Saoner Police Station rushed to the spot.

 

The injured driver was shifted to the Government Hospital in Saoner in an ambulance arranged. Doctors examined him and declared him dead. Police have arrested the truck driver in connection with the accident, and further investigation is underway. Local residents gathered at the accident site and expressed anger over repeated accidents in the area. Villagers said that construction work of a flyover or bridge at the spot has been stalled for a long time which led to frequent accidents.

 

MLA Dr Ashish Deshmukh, who also visited the accident site, said, the flyover construction work was earlier expected to be completed by the end of January but has been delayed. “The National Highways Authority and the contractor will be instructed to complete the flyover work as soon as possible. A meeting with officials and the contractor has been called on Sunday. Compensation will be provided to the deceased’s family as per rules,” he said.