The eve of Holi was marked by tragedy in Virar, when a 51-year-old cyclist died after a biker rammed into his cycle in the Prapada area of Agashi on Thursday evening. It is suspected that a group of children were throwing water-filled balloons on a truck carrying wood for a bonfire, when one of the balloons missed the target and hit a biker, Dhiraj Mahendra Burud, 20, causing him to lose his balance and ram into a cyclist, identified as Ramchandra Harinath Patel, 51. Locals rushed to get hold of Burud, while Patel, who suffered serious head injuries was rushed to the public health centre in Agashi, where he was declared dead on arrival.
The deceased resided in the Navapur Hanuman Mandir area and was a polisher of wooden furniture. He was returning home after finishing his day’s work when the mishap occurred near Naarangi Baug Chaalpet, around 5 pm.
The Arnala coastal police have booked Burud, a fisherman, under section 304-A of the IPC for causing death due to negligence and section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act. However, investigations to ascertain the sequence of events which led to the fatal accident are underway and to identify those who were throwing water-filled balloons at moving vehicles, as stated by the biker and eyewitnesses.
The government had recently issued guidelines to be followed while celebrating Holi, which included a rule that water-filled balloons could not be thrown at anyone without the latter’s consent.
