Pune/Nashik: Nine members of a family, including six children, died after their car fell into an unprotected roadside well in Shivajinagar area of Dindori town in Nashik district, police said on Saturday.
The victims were riding a utility vehicle when it fell into an approximately 25-metre-deep well filled with water on Friday night, police said, adding that the vehicle was completely submerged, trapping all its occupants inside.
“The incident occurred around 10.30 pm when the victims were returning home after attending a meet organized by a private training institute in Dindori town. They are all residents of Indore village in tehsil district, which is about six kilometers from Dindori,” Nashik District Collector Ayush Prasad said.
According to Prasad, the accident occurred in a residential area with adjacent houses on both sides of a concrete road. The well, located on private land on the side of the road, did not have a proper safety barrier.
The antique collector said: “The concrete wall around the well was very low. It seems that the driver missed it in the dark, so the car entered directly.”
Police teams, in cooperation with firefighters and local residents, carried out the rescue operation. Dindori Police Inspector Bhagwan Mathur said two cranes were deployed to recover the submerged car, while local swimmers helped recover the bodies.
“After more than two hours, the car was taken out, and by around 1 am, all the nine bodies had been recovered and sent to a government hospital, where doctors declared them dead,” Mathur added.
The deceased have been identified as Sunil Dargaud (32), the driver, his wife Reshma (27), Asha Dargaud (32), and six children of the family, including five girls aged between 7 to 14 years and an 11-year-old boy.
Inspector Mathur said: “We have registered two FIRs under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). One is against the owner of the well, Rajendra Raje, under Section 324(5) for failing to provide adequate safety measures, such as a protective wall or fence, around the well, which is located near a busy road. The second FIR has been lodged against the deceased Sunil Dargaud, for alleged rash and rash driving.”
The Nashik district administration ordered an investigation to determine whether the well had the required permissions and why it remained open despite its proximity to a public road.
Questions are also being raised about how the well continues to exist at the site, officials said. Mathur said the local civic body had earlier asked the owner to close it.
He said: “The well was dug more than 30 years ago for agricultural use. Procedures to close it have now begun.”
Sandeep Chaudhary, chief officer of Dindori Nagar Panchayat, said housing planning in the area was approved in 2004 by the town planning department. “We sought approval details to understand how this structure remained within the scheme,” he said.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced compensation of Rs $5 thousand pounds for each deceased.
“The incident is extremely painful and heartbreaking. I offer my heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families,” he said in a post on X.
State Minister Girish Mahajan and local MLA and Minister Narhari Zairwal visited the village and met the families. Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar also expressed his condolences.
Local residents said they were aware of the existence of the well, and were moving around the area with caution. One resident said: “We heard sirens and ran to get out. The car was already submerged in water, and there was little we could do.”
