Woman, 54, crushed to death by ST bus at Dwarka Chowk in Nashik

A 54-year-old woman, Surekha Jadhav, died on the spot at the crowded Dwarka Chowk in Nashik after a speeding State Transport (ST) bus hit her as she was crossing the road and she fell under its front wheel.

Jadhav lived in the Upanagar area of Nashik. On Saturday (the 7th), she had gone to Yeola on court work. After finishing her work for the day, she returned to Nashik in the evening. She had hoped to reach home early and celebrate the festival with her family, but the accident happened at Dwarka Chowk before she got there.

The ST bus (MH 14 NE 4724), which was coming from Malegaon towards Nashik, hit her hard as she crossed the road and crushed her under its wheel. The accident was so gruesome that onlookers were shaken.

A large crowd gathered at the spot. Bhadrakali police had to take the help of local autorickshaw drivers to pull the body out from under the bus. The body was sent immediately to the district hospital, but its condition was very bad, making identification difficult.

When police searched the woman's bag, they found some cash, a diary, lemons and pins. Her mobile phone was broken, so police took the SIM card out, put it in another phone and called the numbers written in the diary.

They eventually reached her daughter-in-law. Based on the description given by the daughter-in-law, it was confirmed that the dead woman was Surekha Jadhav. Identification took police about three hours.

With the woman who headed the household gone just before the festival, a mood of mourning has settled over the area.