BIJAPUR/KOLHAPUR, July 23, 2013: Eighteen pilgrims from Sangli district were killed when a private bus rammed into their SUV near Chikka Sindagi village, six km from Sindagi town in Karnataka, on Monday. The dead include 13 men, three women and a 10-year-old girl. 

The pilgrims had visited Ganagpur, a religious centre in Gulbarga , on the occasion of Guru Purnima and were returning to Sangli when the collision took place. "The accident occurred at 2.45 pm when the private bus going from Bijapur to Gulbarga hit a cruiser passenger van coming from the opposite direction on national highway 218. All the deceased were travelling in the SUV," said S Maheshwarappa, senior police officer of Indi sub-division in Karnataka. 

Sixteen of the 20 people in the SUV were killed on the spot. Five persons (three SUV passengers and two bus passengers) were admitted to Sindagi Government Hospital. The condition of three of the injured is critical, said Dr Ranjeeta Kulkarni, medical officer of the hospital. Later, some of the injured were taken to Bijapur Government Hospital. 18 from Sangli killed as bus rams SUV near Bijapur 

Four of the dead have been identified as SUV driver Tejappa Pandurang Shinde, 28; Nandabai Shivaji Chavan, 45; Ashok Pandit Kamble, 40 and Majendra Saragar, all from Sangli district's Jath town. Two of the injured have been identified as Chandrakant Appaji Shinde, 35, and Tatuba Maruti Saragar, both from Jath. The names of the other victims are yet to be ascertained, district surgeon Dr R M Sajjan told TOI. Sangli superintendent of police Dilip Sawant said, "We have received information from the Bijapur SP about the accident. All pilgrims belong to Jath and Kavatemahankal taluka of Sangli district. 

As soon as we got the news, we sent a team of policemen with an ambulance and medical assistance to the spot. The place is around 70 km away from Jath." Traffic on the highway was blocked for nearly a kilometer on both sides of the accident spot. The police used JCB machines to move the bus and jeep off the road.

Source: The Times of India, DT. July 23, 2013.