In a tragic accident, seven students of a medical college, including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vijay Rahangdale’ son, died after their vehicle fell in a river near Selsura village in Wardha district, some 120 kms from here in the wee hours of Tuesday., police said.
The Superintendent of police (SP), Wardha, Prashant Holkar informed that all the seven students were returning after a late night party to their rooms at the medical college when the person who was driving the car lost control over the steering wheel and rammed into the bridge. Later, the SUV fell into the Bhadari river, which was flowing under the bridge and, unfortunately, all seven students lost their lives.
Holkar said that among the deceased students, one of them was Avishkar Rahangdale (22), son of BJP MLA from Tiroda in Gondia district, Vijay Rahangdale. All were the students of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Sawangi in Wardha district. One was an intern with the local medical college after obtaining an MBBS degree from the same college while two were final year students of MBBS.
Villagers informed that the students were passing through Selsura in a SUV when a wild animal suddenly appeared in front of their car. According to a preliminary probe, the person driving the car, in order to avoid the animal, swerved hard on the wheel, resulting in the vehicle falling into a ditch under a culvert. The impact killed all the students on the spot. The lifeguard rushed to the spot to rescue the students and tried to save them but, unfortunately, the rescue operation couldn’t be successful. They found all the students dead.
Senior officials of the district and the peoples’ representatives of the area, including Lok Sabha member Ramdas Tadas and MLA Pankaj Bhoyar rushed to the spot.
“The college authorities have informed the parents of the students about the tragedy,” informed Ravi Meghe, the registrar of the college.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his sorrow over the tragedy and conveyed his heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased. The Prime Minister’s Office also announced a compensation of ₹two-lakh each to the families of the victims.