Pune: Four sugar cane cutters hailing from Gujarat were killed in a hit-and-run accident late on Monday night after a vehicle hit their motorcycle on Veer-Sarala Road in Purandar taluka, about 50km from the city. The Saswad police identified the deceased workers as Harish Barade (26), Pradip More (26), Amit Chaudhary (27) and Muralidhar Sahala (22), all from Dang district in Gujarat. Assistant inspector Vaibhav Sonawane of the Saswad police said the victims worked at the sugar cane farm of Dinesh Nigade of Gunand village in Bhor taluka.
The four men from Sarola towards Veer on their motorcycle around 9pm on Monday. “A vehicle coming from the opposite side hit their motorcycle on a sharp turn. The four men fell off the motorcycle and suffered severe injuries. The driver of the unidentified vehicle did not stop after the accident,” Sonawane said.The officer said some residents of the area noticed the injured men lying on the road and took them to a rural hospital in Saswad. “They were declared dead by doctors,” Sonawane said.He said the accident spot was near the sugar cane farm where the victims worked. “We are investigating where they were heading in the night,” the officer said.Sonawane said the victims’ bodies were sent to their home in Gujarat after the post-mortem. “We are searching for the vehicle that hit their motorcycle. We collected CCTV footage to identify the vehicle. If any person has any information about the vehicle, he or she can approach the Saswad police and share the details. Their names will not be disclosed,” Sonawane said.
