Nagpur: A 28-year-old beautician died after being crushed under the wheels of an Aapli Bus on Kamptee Road near Automotive Chowk on Friday morning. The incident occurred on a stretch where one carriageway has been closed for road concretisation work, being carried out by state public works department (PWD), forcing two-way traffic onto the remaining side.The deceased, identified as Anjali Pande, a resident of Vaishnavi Devi Nagar in Kalamna, owned a beauty parlour in Jaripatka. She was on her way to work when the accident took place at around 10.30am.According to police, Pande was riding her scooter from Automotive Square towards Indora when she suddenly fell from the vehicle and came under the left-side wheel of an NMC city bus (MH-40 DC-2652) operated by EKA. She died on the spot.A preliminary report prepared by the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) stated that the scooter reportedly passed over an uneven portion of the road near DMart, causing it to jump and throwing the rider off balance. The report said Pande sustained fatal injuries after coming under the wheels.However, officials from the public works department (PWD), which is executing the road concretisation project, rejected allegations that poor road conditions led to the accident. “I personally visited the spot and the road is in good condition. We have conveyed the same to the police,” a PWD official said.Senior police inspector Satish Ade of Kapil Nagar police station said investigators have not yet determined the exact reason for Pande’s fall.“Road concretisation work is underway on the stretch. One carriageway is closed and the other is carrying two-way traffic. The woman and the bus were travelling in the same direction when she suddenly fell and came under the left-side wheel of the bus,” Ade said.He added that although a pothole was observed before the accident spot, it was too early to conclude that it had any role in the incident. “The cause of how the two-wheeler rider fell is still under investigation,” he said.The bus involved in the accident was operating on route No. 38 between Tekhadi and Sitabuldi and was carrying 12 passengers. The driver has been identified as Jeetlal Neware, while Sachin Rajurkar was serving as the conductor.The road work is part of the Rs 185-crore Kamptee Road concretisation project between RBI Square and Automotive Square. Following the accident, PWD reopened the previously closed carriageway near the spot to ease traffic movement. However, further ahead near Khalsa Chowk, traffic continues to be diverted onto a single carriageway for two-way movement.Kapil Nagar police have registered a case against the bus driver and launched an investigation to ascertain the precise circumstances that led to the fatal accident.
