9 killed, 10 hurt as speeding car ploughs into crowd in Guj; 2 held
   Date :21-Jul-2023

9 killed, 10 hurt as speeding car  
 
 
AHMEDABAD, 
AT LEAST nine persons, including a constable, were killed and around 10 others injured when a speeding high-end car being driven by a college student ploughed into a crowd gathered at an accident site on a bridge in Ahmedabad city on Thursday, police said. Hours after the post-midnight tragedy on ISKCON Bridge, 20-year-old Tathya Patel, the car driver who was also injured, was arrested after he was discharged from a hospital, said a senior police official. Angry bystanders thrashed the car driver, the son of a real estate developer, and a video of it was recorded by a person standing below the bridge. Since his father, Pragnesh Patel (44), had allegedly threatened people after reaching the accident spot, he was also arrested on charges of criminal intimidation, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Traffic, Neeta Desai. A constable and a Home Guard jawan, who reached the spot after the first accident of a collision involving two vehicles, were among those killed in the car crash, they said.
 
The accident took place at around 1 am at ISKCON Bridge on the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar (SG) highway in the Satellite area when the car, a Jaguar, moving at a very high speed ploughed into the crowd gathered there, the police said. “A Thar (an SUV) collided with a truck at ISKCON Bridge on the SG highway. After receiving information about the accident, local traffic police and a Home Guard jawan reached the spot to manage movement of vehicles and handle the situation. Out of curiosity, several bystanders also gathered at the spot to check what had happened,” Satellite police station inspector K Y Vyas said. “When they were on the bridge, a speeding Jaguar car rammed into the crowd, killing five persons on the spot, while four persons died during treatment. The deceased included a constable and a Home Guard jawan. Nearly 10 persons who received injuries were admitted to different hospitals,” he said. Car driver Tathya Patel was admitted to a private hospital as he too received injuries, the official said.
 
A common FIR against the father-son duo was registered at the SG Highway Traffic Police Station in the evening under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 279 (driving or riding a vehicle in a negligent manner), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and under relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel expressed grief over the incident and announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. Preliminary probe revealed Tathya Patel is a second-year college student, while his father Pragnesh Patel is a builder by profession and had faced various criminal cases in the past, the police said. By evening, an FIR was registered against the father-son duo and both were arrested. “As soon as doctors gave a go ahead, we arrested Tathya and brought him to the police station along with his father. We have also brought five youngsters, including three girls, to the police station to know what exactly happened. These youngsters will be made witnesses in the case,” said DCP Desai.