Pune: Six youths died after a Thar SUV heading from Pune toward Konkan fell nearly 500 feet deep into a valley at Tamhini ghat. The incident took place on November 17; however, in the search operation, the dead bodies were found on Thursday.
The deceased have been identified as Shahaji Chavan (22), Punit Sudharak Shetty (20), Sahil Sadhu Bote (24), Mahadev Koli (18), Omkar Sunil Koli (18), and Shiva Arun Mane (19), all are residents of Kopre village in the Uttam Nagar jurisdiction.
According to the police, they are all friends and work in different professions. The incident took place on November 17. However, the incident came to light only after the families of the youths filed missing reports at the Uttam Nagar Police station, when they failed to return home on November 19.
The SUV (MH12 YN 8004) had reportedly left for a leisure trip to Konkan, after which all communication with their families abruptly stopped. Following the missing complaint, police began tracing their route through CCTV footage and mobile location data.
Speaking to Free Press Journal, Mohan Khandare, Senior Police Inspector of Uttam Nagar Police Station, said, “On Thursday, November 20, drone surveillance over a notorious sharp curve in the ghat spotted the mangled vehicle and bodies were found in a deep gorge. They took his friend Sahil Bote’s Mahindra Thar to go on a trip when the mishap took place. The mangaon Police is investigating the matter further.”
