Two minor siblings mowed down by van in Palghar; vehicle driver arrested

A minor boy and his sister were mowed down by a speeding pickup van in Maharashtras Palghar district police officials told news agency PTI on SundayThe incident took place on Friday evening and the 27yearold van driver was arrested from Dahanu area on Saturday they saidThe sevenyearold boy and his sister aged 12 belonging to ModgaonKhoripada in Dahanu were walking on a road when the speeding van hit them Palghar police spokesperson Sachin Navadkar told PTIThe injured children were rushed to a hospital where doctors declared them brought dead he saidThe van driver who fled from the spot after the incident was nabbed on Saturday the police told PTIA case was registered against the driver under Indian Penal Code sections 304A causes death by rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide 279 rash driving or riding 337 and 338 causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others and provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act they saidMeanwhile in another incident two persons were killed when two buses of the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport BEST collided and then one of them hit an autorickshaw in Mumbai on Sunday police officials told PTIThe accident took place at 145 am on a slippery road near Aarey flyover on the Western Express Highway they saidMumbai has been receiving rains since the past one week making roads slipperyAn official from Vanrai police station told PTI that both the BEST buses were heading to Ghatkopar depot from Poisar depot when the driver of the vehicle moving ahead applied brakesThe driver of the bus behind also applied brakes but as the road was slippery due to rains it skidded and collided with the bus in front and thereafter with an autorickshaw the official told PTITwo passengers in the autorickshaw were severely injured he saidThe police shifted the two passengers Johny Sankharam 42 and Sujata Panchaki 38 to different hospitals where they were declared dead the official saidThe autorickshaw driver also received a minor injury on his left cheek he saidOn the basis of primary information we have arrested the driver of the bus which was in front and booked him under Indian Penal Code section 304A causing death by negligence The incident happened due to the slippery road We are doing further investigation into it the official told PTIWith inputs from PTI