A tragic road accident on the Pune-Bengaluru national highway has claimed the lives of two individuals, including the mother of Kolhapur's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) chief, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) Vaishnavi Patil. The officer herself and two others sustained serious injuries in the early morning collision.
Details of the Fatal Collision
The accident occurred between 4:00 AM and 4:30 AM on Sunday near Tamatakallu village in Karnataka's Chitradurga taluka. The location is approximately 410 kilometers from Kolhapur city. The SUV carrying DySP Vaishnavi Patil and her family collided with a multi-axle truck.
Kamal Haribhau Patil (69), the mother of the ACB officer, and the family driver, Rakesh Arjun Aiwale (39), died on the spot. The driver, who hailed from Nippani village in Karnataka near the Maharashtra border, had reportedly been driving continuously for 7 to 8 hours without a break. Preliminary investigations suggest he may have dozed off, leading to a loss of control and the subsequent collision with the truck.
Injured Victims and Hospitalization
DySP Vaishnavi Patil (45) was seriously injured in the crash. The other injured victims are her aunt, Kusum Pralhad Patil (57), and police constable Uday Dattatreya Patil (38). All three were admitted to Basaveshwara Medical College and Hospital in Chitradurga for treatment.
Chitradurga police DySP Dinakar PK, who visited the accident site and the hospital, provided an update on the officer's condition. "The DySP is out-of-danger. She is undergoing treatment... She is in shock at present. We will interact with her once she is normalised," he stated. He also confirmed that the officer's relatives had been informed and had reached the hospital to be with her.
Family Returning from a Ceremony
The family was returning to their home in Kolhapur after attending a marriage ceremony in Rameshwaram. The journey ended in tragedy on the national highway. Kamal Haribhau Patil and her sister-in-law Kusum Patil were residents of Kaande village in Maharashtra's Sangli district.
This incident highlights the critical dangers of driver fatigue on long-distance journeys, especially on national highways. Authorities continue to investigate the exact circumstances of the crash while the injured recover from their ordeal.
