A tragic accident occurred in the Wagholi jurisdiction when a dumper truck (MH 12 VF 0437) ran over people sleeping on the footpath near Kesnand Phata Chowk on Monday around 1 am.

The accused driver has been identified as Gajanan Shankar Totre (26), a resident of Nanded. Totre was allegedly under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.

Two toddlers killed

Two toddlers and a man were killed and six other persons injured in the accident.

According to the information, the deceased have been identified as Vishal Vinod Pawar (22), Vaibhavi Ritesh Pawar (1), and Vaibhav Ritesh Pawar (2), natives of Amravati, along with six others who were injured in the accident.

The victims comprised labourers and their family members hailing from Amravati. The labourers had come to Pune a couple of days back in search of jobs, the police said.

The injured were initially given first aid at Inox Hospital and later referred to Sassoon General Hospital for further treatment. The bodies of the deceased were also moved to Sassoon Hospital for post-mortem.

Senior police officials revealed that the driver was detained at the scene and sent for a medical examination at Sassoon Hospital. Following confirmation of intoxication, a case of culpable homicide was registered against him. He has been formally arrested, and an investigation is underway.

The six injured persons - Janki Pawar (21), Rinisha Pawar (18), Roshan Bhosale (9), Nagesh Pawar (27), Darshan Vairal (18) and Aalisha Pawar (47) - were admitted to the Sassoon General Hospital, they added.

Pune Additional Commissioner of Police (East Region) Manoj Patil said the truck driver lost control over the wheels near Wagholi police station and rammed his vehicle into several people sleeping on the footpath at 12.55 am.