Uncle and nephew get run over by truck, buried in silt

Tragedy struck a family in Beed district of Maharashtra Thursday when a man and his nephew were crushed under the wheels of a truck carrying silt to their farm, the police said.

The shock of the news led to the death of an elderly woman in the family.

The accident took place at Bhatumba village in Kaij tehsil around 2 am. The deceased were identified as Sarjerao Dhapate (48) and his nephew Bunty Dhapate (21).

According to the police, silt excavated from a nearby dam was being spread over Sarjerao Dhapate's farm and the uncle and nephew were supervising the work.

Post midnight, as the truck left to bring more silt, the two decided to lay down to catch a nap.

When the tipper-truck returned, the driver did not notice in the dark that they were sleeping in the field as they had wrapped a black shawl around them, and ran them over while reversing, the police said.

Not realising immediately that they had been run over, the driver then proceeded to offload silt over them.

Later, realising what had happened, the driver approached the police and informed them about the accident.

The bodies were recovered in the morning.

The police registered an offence of negligence against the driver.

Meanwhile, to add to the tragedy, Bhagubai Ramdas Ingale (65), Sarjerao's cousin, died of a heart attack when she learnt about his and Bunty's death, the police said.