Thane: Drunk driver kills three in Ulhasnagar

Mangled remains of the auto-rickshaw that accused rammed first. Pic/Navneet Barhate

Officers from the Central police station in Ulhasnagar arrested a 22-year-old student for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol and causing a fatal accident that resulted in the death of three people. The incident took place early Monday morning when Lavesh Kevalramani, driving an MG Hector car in an inebriated state, collided with an auto-rickshaw on the Kalyan-Badlapur Road in Shanti Nagar.

The police said that Lavesh Kevalramani collided with the auto-rickshaw around 5.15 am, resulting in the death of the driver and two passengers. "Subsequently, he hit another rickshaw, causing injuries to its driver and damaging other vehicles parked nearby," said an officer from Central police station.

The rickshaw driver and two passengers were killed due to the collision. Pic/Navneet Barhate

Following the incident, the police recorded the statement of Javed Sayeed, a rickshaw driver who sustained injuries. "Three people - Somudeep Jana, 24, Anjali Jana, 54, and Sambhu Chouhan, 53 - were pronounced dead at the Central Hospital, while Mahindra Pandhre, 38, Pramod Daund, 33, and Javed Sayeed, 36, sustained injuries," an officer said.

According to the police, Sambhu Chouhan was driving the rickshaw, while his passengers Somudeep and Anjali Jana were heading home from a wedding.

Pramod Daund, crash survivor. Pic/Navneet Barhate

"Initial evidence suggests Kevalramani was intoxicated. His blood samples have been sent to the hospital for testing. He is an MBA student and a resident of Ulhasnagar," said Senior Police Inspector Vijay Waghmare of Central police station.

Kevalramani has been charged under Sections 304 (death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt), 338 (causing grievous hurt), 279 (rash driving), and 504 (intentional insult) of the Indian Penal Code and will be produced in court today.

Pramod Daund, a survivor of the crash who sustained injuries, said Kevalramani was driving very recklessly. "He crushed my fellow rickshaw driver and his passengers. Then his car came towards me and I injured my leg. Two other people were also injured. I have no words to describe the horror and this gruesome incident will haunt me for the rest of my life," he told mid-day.