8 killed after pick-up van falls into well in Solapur, probe ordered

Eight persons, including a six-month-old boy and three other children, were killed after a pick-up van carrying 15 pilgrims plunged into a well near Tandulwadi village in Malshiras area of Solapur district on Sunday. Seven people were rescued, police said. This is the second such incident of a vehicle falling into an open well in the past two months in Maharashtra. In April, a similar incident took place in in Dindori area of Nashik district.

According to police, the pilgrims were returning after visiting the Siddhanath temple in Mhaswad, Solapur district, when the pick-up van fell into a well. Local residents were involved in rescue operations along with police and fire personnel. Officials from the district collectorate and political leaders also reached the spot.

Superintendent of Police, Solapur rural, Atul Kulkarni, said, “The eight deceased include four children and four adults. The pick-up vehicle had 15 passengers, all relatives. Seven persons have been rescued. The accident took place between 5 pm and 5.15 pm.”

Santosh Walke, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Akluj division, Solapur, said, “The accident took place on the Satara-Pandharpur Highway in Tandulwadi village of Malshiras taluka in Solapur district. The deceased are natives of Pandharpur and were returning from Mhaswad in Satara in a pick-up vehicle. Prima facie probe suggests that the driver lost control and the vehicle fell into the well on the roadside. Further probe is on.”

The deceased have been identified as Indubai Dashrath Bawache (60), Pooja Anil Satore (23), Pooja Balaji Bawache (27), Ashwini Sandip Bawache (27), Sanskar Sandip Bawache (14), Sanskruti Sandip Bawache (14), Aarav Anil Satore (8) and six-month-old Samarth Balaji Bawache.

Condoling the deaths, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “The incident in Tandulwadi in Malshiras taluka of Solapur district, where some devotees lost their lives in an accident after a vehicle fell into a well on private farmland, is extremely tragic and heartbreaking. I pay my heartfelt tributes…” The CM said the state government will provide Rs 5 lakh to the kin of the deceased.

According to residents, no action was taken even after repeated complaints to the authorities regarding the lack of parapet wall around the well. Sarjerao Chavan, a villager, told reporters, “The well did not have a protective wall… Officials paid no heed to my complaints,” he said.

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Solapur District Collector S Karthikeyan said they have appointed a five-member committee to probe the incident. “The committee will include top officials from PWD, MSRDC and RTO,” Karthikeyan said. The committee has also been asked to fix the blame and suggest measures to prevent such incidents in future, Karthikeyan said, adding that the probe will focus on the missing parapet wall of the well.

Madha MP Dhairyasheel Mohite-Patil said, “We had sent multiple letters and held meetings, but there has been no action. Accidents happen every month but the government continued to ignore our complaints.”

However, Kulkarni said, “It is a farm well, at a lower level than the road. So a small protective wall would have been ineffective. The vehicle plunged after the driver lost control.”

The incident comes two months after a vehicle fell into an unsecured well in Dindori area of Nashik district, killing nine of a family. On April 2, a car fell into a well located in the middle of a 100-foot-wide concrete road in Dindori area of Nashik, killing nine of a family. Six of the deceased were children.

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According to Congress spokesperson Gopal Tiwari, “When the Nashik incident happened, the Chief Minister had ordered a probe and promised action in the matter. It seems the CM’s action was only limited to Nashik area. Had he directed all the district collectors in Maharashtra to secure all the open wells, this incident would not have happened. This is certainly not an accident. A murder case should be filed against all the officials concerned.”

Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar said, “The incident is extremely unfortunate and heart-wrenching. I pay my heartfelt tributes to all the devotees who lost their lives… I have given instructions to provide necessary assistance to those affected immediately.”