Three bike-borne youths killed in truck collision near Ghugus while heading home for Diwali

A tragic accident occurred on the Ghugus-Chandrapur road in the early hours of Friday (November 6). A truck hit a motorcycle near the Sapra petrol pump in Shengaon. All three youths riding the motorcycle died. The accident took place at about 4.45 am.

According to police, two of the youths died on the spot after the collision. The third was taken in a critical condition to the government hospital in Chandrapur, where doctors declared him dead during treatment. The impact was so severe that the motorcycle was completely smashed.

The deceased have been identified as Jaideep Shriram Halami, Taneshwar Kumarsai Nang and Gopal Budharam Naitam. Jaideep and Taneshwar were residents of Botekasa in Korchi tehsil of Gadchiroli district. Gopal Naitam was a resident of Ambagad Chowki in the Manpur area of Chhattisgarh. The three were travelling from Ghugus towards Chandrapur on a motorcycle bearing the number MH-33-AJ-9969. They had reportedly set out for their respective villages to celebrate Diwali.

Pipeline work by Lloyds Metals company is under way on this route. For this reason, the carriageway from Chandrapur towards Ghugus had been closed. As a result, traffic in both directions was running on the single road from Ghugus to Chandrapur. On that road, a speeding truck coming from the opposite direction hit the motorcycle head-on. Jaideep Halami and Taneshwar Nang died on the spot, while Gopal Naitam died during treatment at the hospital.

After the accident, the truck driver fled the spot with the vehicle. Police began an investigation and have identified the accused driver. He is named as Dharmendra Umrao Prajapati, said to be 37 years old. He works as a driver with Pankaj Jha Transport in Padoli. The accused is originally from Ekdala village in Khaga tehsil of Fatehpur district, Uttar Pradesh. A case has been registered against him.

Ghugus police are carrying out further legal proceedings and investigation into the accident. Grief has struck three families just before Diwali, as all three youths had set out to celebrate the festival at home.