Student killed as Mercedes driven by drunk man hits motorbike in Pune

A 23-year-old college student was killed in Pune city in the early hours of Saturday after a Mercedes driven by a drunk man returning with his friends after partying rammed into a motorbike, police said.

After hitting the victim’s motorbike, the car with its four occupants fell off a bridge. The accused driver is a student of a post-graduate computer science course, an official said.

Three persons, including two occupants of the car, were injured in the incident that took place around 4.30 am on Wadgaon bridge along the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway near the Sinhgad Road area.

The deceased, Kunal Hushar, a Bachelor of Computer Science (BCS) student, was riding pillion with Pradyot Pujari (21). The two were returning to Chinchwad after attending a ‘kirtan’ performance in Pune, police said.

The Mercedes had four occupants. Shubham Bhosale (27), who was driving the car, was allegedly under the influence of alcohol along with two others, the official said.

The group of four had partied at a dhaba or roadside eatery near Hinjewadi till 2.15 am before heading back.

“After hitting the motorcycle, the car fell off the bridge, onto the service road below. Hushar was critically injured and died in hospital, while Pujari is undergoing treatment. The car occupants too sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious,” said Sambhaji Kadam, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 3).

The passengers in the car were identified as Nikhil Ranawade (26), Shreyas Solankhi (25) and Vedant Rajput (28).

Driver Bhosale, who is pursuing post-graduation in computer science from a reputed institute in Nigdi near Pune, and the others were arrested under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) including ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’ and the Motor Vehicles Act.

“Medical tests confirmed that three of the four car occupants, including the driver, were under the influence of alcohol,” DCP Kadam said.

Further probe was on.