Couple on motorcycle killed in accident on Pune-Bengaluru highway

A couple was killed after a gas tanker rammed their motorcycle from behind near Khed Shivapur toll plaza on the Pune-Bengaluru national highway in Pune district on Friday afternoon, police said. Preliminary investigation suggests the tanker driver may have lost control of the vehicle.

A couple was killed after a gas tanker rammed their motorcycle from behind near Khed Shivapur toll plaza on the Pune-Bengaluru national highway in Pune district on Friday afternoon, police said. The deceased were identified as Rajendra Baban More (55) and his wife Savita More (42), residents of Warje Malwadi in Pune city. They were travelling towards Satara when the gas tanker hit their motorcycle on the Satara-bound lane. The impact was so severe that both victims were dragged under the tanker and died on the spot. ''Preliminary investigation suggests the tanker driver may have lost control of the vehicle. Eyewitnesses said both vehicles were moving at high speed,'' said a police official. Local residents rushed to the spot and alerted authorities, but the couple had succumbed before medical assistance arrived. Enraged locals vandalised the tanker in protest before police personnel brought the situation under control. Traffic movement on the busy Pune-Bengaluru highway remained disrupted for a brief period. Tanker driver Raj Kishan B has been detained for questioning. Further investigation is underway, police added.