Mumbai: Ice cream treat that turned into death wish in Vikhroli

Ashwin Hebare, Vishal Shelar, Chandrashekhar Musale and Hamid Abdul Shaikh

Four friends were crushed to death under gunny bags which fell from a truck in a freak accident in Vikhroli East on Thursday. Another friend was injured in the accident that took place around 11.45 pm when they had gone to have ice cream at Sambhaji Chowk in Surya Nagar.

The deceased have been identified as Ashwin Hebare, 34, Vishal Shelar, 21, Chandrashekhar Musale, 35, and Hamid Abdul Sheik, 41. Chand Hasan Sheikh, 38, is undergoing treatment in Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar. All the deceased were residents of Surya Nagar.

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The five friends were standing near Sai Restaurant at the chowk, where a truck driver was reversing when his vehicle's rear tyre rolled over a newly built gutter. The cover of the gutter cracked and sank, resulting in the truck tilting towards the boys who were then crushed under gunny sacks filled with grain.

"I heard people shouting and when I reached the spot, pedestrians and shopkeepers were already trying to remove those stuck under the gunny bags. Three had already died, while two others were taken to Rajawadi Hospital," Chandan Giri, a witness, said.

Shrirang Shelar, father of deceased Vishal, told mid-day, "Vishal was my only son and support. Yesterday night, my daughter's kids came to play with him after we had dinner. He then went outside to have an ice cream with his friends. A couple of hours later, I received a call that Vishal got injured in an accident. We rushed to Rajawadi Hospital and learnt that he was no more. I don't know what to do now. I want police to punish those responsible for the accident," he added.

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Social worker Suresh Gupta said the cement chamber, which was built 10 days ago, has undergone several re-construction. "It's a man-made disaster. BMC is responsible for it. We demand FIR against responsible officers who gave green signal for the work and R30 lakh rupees compensation for every deceased," he added.

The Vikhroli police have booked the truck driver and contractor, who had built the gutter cover, under IPC sections 304A (causing death by negligence), 279 (rash driving) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others). They have arrested the driver, Dileep Jadhav, 44, but are yet to identify the contractor.

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