Angry devotees and local residents set the truck involved in the accident on fire on Monday evening
Nashik: A 10-year-old boy was killed after a truck hit him on Jalgaon-Mamurabad road in Jalgaon taluka on Monday evening while he was returning from a religious fair with his parents and other devotees. The injured driver was admitted to a hospital under police protection, and his condition was reported stable. Jalgaon Taluka police inspector Shashikant Patil said preliminary investigations indicated that the driver might have been driving rashly and lost control of the vehicle before striking the child.
Jalgaon police said the victim, identified as Prabal Raju Gawali of Gawaliwada in Jalgaon’s Shanipeth area, had attended a religious fair at Triveni Sangam near Rameshwaram in Jalgaon taluka with his parents. Soon after the accident, an angry crowd descended on the truck driver, assaulting him before setting the vehicle ablaze,” the police said. The police said the situation was subsequently brought under control.
The accident sparked violent protests, with angry devotees and local residents assaulting the driver and setting the truck on fire. “A truck loaded with grocery and ration supplies was heading from Jalgaon towards Chopda when it struck the boy amid heavy rush on the road. Prabal’s body was later shifted to the Jalgaon Civil Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Fire brigade teams rushed to the scene and extinguished the blaze engulfing the truck. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Jalgaon superintendent of police Shrikant Dhivare held discussions with officials from National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and public works department (PWD) on urgent road-safety measures.
To address traffic and safety concerns in the area, a joint inspection of bypass routes would be carried out on Wednesday afternoon by the Jalgaon collector, SP and NHAI officials.
A case of causing death by negligence has been registered against him.