Water tanker owner tried to settle case, alleges complainant

The water tanker owner allegedly tried to settle the case after the accident, claimed Santosh Tukaram Dhume, the complainant in the accident case who is an assistant trainer at Mahakal Wrestling Sankul and works part-time as a driver.

When the tanker was heading towards NIBM Chowk from Undri, 25 female students of Mahakal Wrestling Sankul were walking along the road while Dhume was riding a two-wheeler and his wife Geeta was riding pillion. Geeta and Soni Chandra Singh Rathore, a national wrestling player, were injured in the accident.

Dhume said, “After the accident, the brother (whose name could not be verified) of Mahendra Borade, owner of New Borade Water Suppliers, approached me and asked not to file a police complaint. He was ready to bear the hospital expenses of both the victims.’’

Santosh Sonawane, senior police inspector at Kondhwa police station, said, “We don’t have any such information. After the accident immediately at around 10:30 am we filed an FIR and arrested two persons in the case.’’

“If anybody approaches us in the case, then we will take appropriate action,” Sonawane added.

Speaking about the increased trend of underage drivers involved in road accidents, Arun Sabnis of Fulora Foundation, a non-profit working to create awareness of road safety, said this is an alarming trend. “This indicates that there is no fear of traffic police among minors,” said Sabnis.

“To address this, traffic police should work in two steps. One is the actual implementation of traffic rules on the ground and the second is to create awareness among the masses, especially youngsters,” said Sabnis.

According to Sabnis, generally, traffic police focus on intercepting commuters and issuing challans to them. “Instead of that, they should focus on monitoring traffic,” he added.