Five wrestlers among six dead in a road accident in Maharashtra

What's the story?

Five wrestlers and a driver were killed in a road accident in Maharashtra's Sangli district in the early hours of Saturday morning.

In case you didn't know...

The wrestlers belonged to Kranti Kushti Sankul institution, which is a famed wrestling institute and has produced many top grapplers in the state as well as the national levels.

The heart of the matter

Five wrestlers and a driver were killed in a major road accident between their SUV and a tractor carrying sugarcane that took place on the Kadegaon-Sangli road.

The wrestlers were returning from a tournament in Pune's Satara district. Apart from the wrestlers and their companion, five other people were injured in the accident, and have been admitted to a Sangli hospital.

The wrestlers were from the Kranti Kushti Sankul institution, which has dominated the state championships in recent years, and were expected to make the grade for Nationals soon.

A senior police official has stated that they were headed to Kundal in Sangli after returning from Aundh Village in Pune's Satara district, where the wrestling tournament was held. A case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Moto Vehicles Act has been registered at the Chinchni-Vangi police station. The police are conducting concerted efforts to nab the tractor driver, who fled from the accident location.

In a similar incident, five national powerlifters had died in a road accident on the Delhi-Panipat highway, earlier this month.

What's next?

The police are conducting an investigation into the mishap and the injured are currently admitted to a hospital in Sangli, and search for the culprit is on.

Author's take

Two cases of athletes dying in road accidents really call into question the road safety regulations in India and the need to ensure one's safety while travelling late at night.