3 killed, 6 hurt as truck runs people over on Pune footpath

Two toddlers and a man were killed and six people injured as a truck ran over people sleeping on a footpath in Maharashtra's Pune city in the wee hours of Monday, police said.

The incident took place at 12.55 am on the footpath in Wagholi area where several people were sleeping, they said.

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

The truck driver, Gajanan Totre (26), was arrested and his medical test was being done to ascertain if he was under the influence of alcohol, an official said.

"There were many people sleeping on the footpath near Kesnand Phata area, most of them labourers," a senior police official said.

The deceased have been identified as Vaibhavi Pawar (1), Vaibhav Pawar (2) and Vishal Pawar (22), the police said.

The injured - 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 vehicle near Wagholi police station and rammed it into several people sleeping on the footpath.

"We arrested the truck driver from the spot. A case has been registered against him and a medical test is under way to verify if he was drunk," the official said.