Four colleagues die in ghastly mishap, one survives

Nagpur: A weekend feast ended in tragedy when four colleagues of an IT Park-based call centre died in a road mishap near Octroi Check Post on Wardha Road in the early hours of Sunday. Their speeding car rammed into a parked truck. The lone survivor, now recuperating at Orange City Hospital, was the only one wearing a seat belt. The impact of the accident was so great that the head of the driver got severed from the body and was recovered from the rear seat.
The deceased have been identified as Sayed Ubaid Feroze Zeeshan (24), Sagar Surjuse (25), Ajay Kushwaha (28) and Akash George (25), who was driving. Aamir Khan, who was rushed to hospital by Sonegaon police, is fighting for life.
It’s learnt that the colleagues at the call centre would frequently go partying on the weekend. Eight friends, including a woman, were returning after partying at Guru Kripa dhaba on Wardha Road on Saturday night. Three of the friends, including the woman, were in the car that safely passed the parked truck. George was driving the car, purchased just two months back, that rammed into the back of a truck whose driver had left the vehicle to relieve himself. The trucker fled the spot after the accident.
Police said the incident took place at 3.50am. Sub-inspector Nilesh Pimpalshende of Sonegaon police station, who was conducting a nakabandi in the vicinity, rushed to the spot on being informed. ASI Nagre of Khapri chowky of Sonegaon police station had already reached the spot. PSI Pimpalshende said Khan, probably seated beside the driver, showed signs of life when the cops reached the place. “Khan was removed from the mangled car and sent to a private hospital in an ambulance summoned through 108,” he said. “The three others on the rear seat were motionless. The driver’s headless body was stuck in the car too. Those in the rear seats too had their limbs broken,” said Pimpalshende.
A police crane and fire department teams had to be pressed into action to remove the bodies trapped in the mangled heap of the damaged car. The front portion of the car had to be cut away to bring out the bodies. Pimpalshende said the others were shifted to Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) as they were not showing any sign of life. “Prompt police response helped save one life at least,” he said.
Police alerted the families of the victims after retrieving documents like driving licenses and Adhaar card from their possessions. The car, registered in the name of Akash’s elder brother Vikas, had been purchased for family business. The cops initially thought Vikas had perished in the accident. “The cops had come looking for my family members, presuming it was me who was behind the wheels,” said Vikas. “Akash was settled in Thane but we had urged him to come to Nagpur to support the family,” he said.
Sonegaon police have registered a case of causing death due to negligence and rash driving against George, who was behind the wheels. Senior inspector Arun Jagtap of Sonegaon police station said his team is engaged in trying to scan through CCTV footage of nearby Octroi Post to spot the registration number of the killer truck.
THE VICTIMS
Sayed Ubaid (24): Resident of Jaffar nagar. He is second among three brothers. He was a diploma holder from a polytechnic college
Akash George (25): Resident of Butibori, where the Tamilian family had settled few years back. The family owns a mechanical workshop at Butibori. The George family had purchased the car two months ago. Akash has an elder brother Vikas
Ajay Kushwaha (28): A resident of Gittikhadan, his father Chandrapal is a driver with motor transport department of city police. He works in Pune but family had called him back to the city. He was a vegetarian and teetotaller
Sagar Surjuse (25): Only son of his parents, father a doctor at Pune and mother a teacher at Pusad in Yavatmal. He had been staying at a rented place at Dighori.
Aamir Khan (27): Elder of two brothers staying at Jaffar Nagar. His younger brother is working in the Gulf.