Samruddhi crash: FIR against truck driver, contracting firm after injured worker alleges lack of safety

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Rural police on Friday night registered an FIR against the driver of a container truck and a contracting firm in connection with an accident on the Samruddhi Expressway that killed three workers and injured three others earlier in the afternoon. The FIR, lodged at the Chikalthana police station, is based on a complaint filed by an injured worker, Dnyaneshwar Somnath Ghorpade (26) from Pokhari in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. He is currently undergoing treatment at a private hospital. According to the police, offences have been registered under Sections 281, 106(1), 125(A), 125(B) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). "Ghorpade has stated in his complaint that he was employed as a worker with the contracting firm for the past three months for maintenance work on the expressway. Around 9am on Friday, the workers was instructed to replace damaged iron guard rail poles along the Mumbai-bound carriageway. Around 12.30pm, they were working near pole number 406 when they paused for lunch. Their service vehicle was parked in lane one, with a JCB stationed ahead of it and a red plastic marker pole placed to alert motorists about the ongoing work," an officer said, citing the complaint.Ghorpade, along with coworkers Ganesh Kasare, Rahul Giri and Vireshwar Vishwakarma, was seated in the shade of the vehicle, while Ram Patel was inside the JCB and Shailendra Roy was in the equipment truck. Moments later, a speeding container trailer heading towards Mumbai allegedly ploughed through them and fled, the officer said."The vehicle hit us before we could react and then crashed into the parked truck and JCB, dragging them forward. All of us sustained severe injuries," Ghorpade stated in the complaint.The complainant further alleged that the contractor failed to ensure adequate safety measures or provide proper safety instructions despite deploying workers on a high‑speed expressway. A company ambulance reached the spot soon after, and the injured were taken to hospital. Ghorpade later learned that three of his colleagues — Kasare, Giri and Vishwakarma — had succumbed to their injuries.Police said the truck driver fled the scene after the accident and efforts are underway to trace him.