This happened with one of my schoolfriend on the early hours of 24th of March 2018.
There are two versions to this story with the reason for the different versions explained later.
The police/TOI version:
- Three students riding on two scooters without wearing helmet died and another suffered serious injuries after a speeding car collided head-on with their two-wheelers at Bhugaon on Paud Road in the early hours on Saturday.
- Two other friends of the victims riding on another scooter excaped unhurt as the car did not hit their vehicle.
- According to the police, the car driver lost control while overtaking another vehicle and it veered to the wrong side of the road and collided head on with 2 out of the three two-wheelers.
The Truth (my side)
It was a normal Friday evening, and they had just finished classes, waiting for the weekend mood to kick in. Since all of them were from the same college(all of them pursuing BBA), they often hung out together late into the nights. All of them were from decent middle-class families. That day, after a regular "Boys Night (gaming, movies, etc.)", they decided to head out and have dinner. It was around 12:00 am, they headed out towards Café CO2 in Bhugaon from Viman Nagar side. For those unkown, Bhugaon is known for its natural beauty and nightlife in resorts/hotels. It is situated on the outskirts of Pune, toward the west.
Now there were 6 people and three two wheelers, two people on each bikes. Two Honda Dios and one TVS Jupiter. All of them were well above 18 years old, had licences and none of them were in inebriated state. Their parents knew they were together and would be staying out late. None of them were carrying or wearing their helmets at the time. Their only mistake!
At around 1:30, near Chandni chowk, one of the two wheelers in front noticed a car speeding towards them on the wrong side. They didn't even get the time to register the fact that the car was driving toward their lane, when suddenly they hear a loud bang and screech, only to notice that their friends had been mowed down by this driver and dragged a significant distance. Panicked, they decided to call the police and some passer-by helped them call the ambulance and transfer all of them to the hospital where Kunal and Manas (Honda Dio) were declared dead on arrival and Shubham (my school friend) succumbed to his injuries the next day, while Dhruv (he was a pillion with Shubham on TVS Jupiter)was fighting for his life in the ICU for several days, and thankfully survived with broken ribs.
Now, lets come to the driver of the car(Mr. D). He was heading out towards his home in Bavdhan from Bhugaon after a bashing drinks and dinner party. He was in an inebriated state, which was noted by all those present on the accident site as well. He was driving like crazy in his black Honda Accord. Some say he was racing against another car(used to be a frequent menace in those areas), but these still remain as speculations. He was between the estimated speeds of 120-130kmph, when he collided with them. He survived the incident with minor injuries. He was a marketing head in his mid-20s at a good private company. Initially, the Police had refused to lodge a complaint at Hinjewadi police station, blaming the kids for not wearing a helmet. Looked like Mr. D had some high contacts. But due to public pressure, they lodged a case against him, but he was granted bail immediately. Now lets come to the facts.
- The boys were not wearing a helmet. Agreed, it was a mistake on their part. But,
- The car was riding at more than 100kmph, so no amount of safety gear would have saved their life, as evident by the pics that will follow.
- The driver was in an inebriated state and had good internal contacts, so much so that initially the cops had refused to lodge a complaint. And the media as well as police were stuck on the point that it was the kids fault that they were not wearing a helmet
- Till this date, no justice has been served.
Let the pictures explain the gravity of the situation.
The approx. location, although I can't seem to remember the exact spot.
Both the two wheelers found in as is condition (moved to the side walk).
Honda Dio (Manas and Kunal)
Tvs Jupiter (Shubham driver and Dhruv pillion)
The culprit Honda Accord in question
The incident link:
(mostly in Marathi. Also contains one blurred intense picture)
Shubham was very bright and comical since his school days. He used to make us laugh with his witty yet lame jokes and was always seen surrounded by his friends. He had a very bright future ahead of him. Even as I type this post, I remember his smiling face, inviting me for a quick ice-cream break after school hours. RIP my friend!
This whole incident has had me shaken since. I had to travel(with helmet and all the safety gear) a lot at night (8-10 P.M.), on the Old Pune-Mumbai Highway due to my company bus leaving me 10kms away from home and earlier on the Pune Solapur Highway (9-11 P.M.), due to my college being almost 15kms away. Since I have a Honda Activa at home, I am always in the tension of crossing the highways quickly, while looking out for fast moving and wrong side vehicles. I will never get over the fear of riding a two wheeler at night, that's for sure.
Once again, the high society people prevailed and the judicial system failed.