3 killed as speeding SUV rams into car in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, July 1

Three persons were killed and one was critically injured when a speeding Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) rammed into a car in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad city on Monday morning, police said.

The accident took place at a ‘T’ junction on the Sardar Patel Ring Road at around 5 am, they said.

Visuals showed beer cans in the SUV and some lying scattered near the car wreckage.

The number plate of the SUV belonged to another car, sources said.

The State Monitoring Cell (SMC), which keeps a watch on illegal liquor sale in Gujarat, denied reports that its team was chasing the SUV.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic (West), Neeta Desai, said the SUV driver was in their “custody” and a probe was ordered to find out if he was speeding because of their involvement in any illegal activity.

She said the SUV coming from the Vaishnodevi Circle hit the car when the latter was taking a turn towards Rajpath Club Road.

The deceased have been identified as SUV occupant Om Prakash (37), the car’s driver Ajit Kathi (32) and its occupant Manish Bhatt (52), both residents of Viramgam in Ahmedabad, she said.

Om Prakash and the SUV’s driver Rajendra Sahu, who was seriously injured, were residents of Rajasthan, she said.

“The SUV going towards Bopal rammed into a car, which was coming from Bopal side and taking a right turn towards the Rajpath Club Road. Two occupants of the car and one person in the SUV died on the spot. The SUV’s driver was undergoing treatment at a hospital,” said Desai.

After being alerted about the incident, which was also captured in CCTV cameras, local police and fire brigade teams rushed to the spot to rescue the victims from the wreckage.

The SMC denied reports that its team was chasing the SUV.

“We would like to clarify that none of our teams were chasing that SUV. It was just a rumour spread by some people,” SMC’s Deputy Superintendent of Police KT Kamaria said in a statement.