Wardha accident: BJP MLA's son among 7 killed as car falls off bridge in Selsura; PM Modi condoles

Wardha, Jan 25: Seven people, including some medical students and the son of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Vijay Rahangdale, were killed in Wardha district of Maharashtra when the car they were travelling in fell off a bridge early on Tuesday.

According to media reports, the accident happened after a Mahindra XUV 500, plunged off a bridge when the driver lost control over the vehicle. The SUV was heading to Wardha from Deoli.

The students had finished their exams and were returning from a party when the mishap took place.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday morning condoled the loss of lives in a road accident in Maharashtra, in which the son of a local lawmaker was killed. He also announced an ex-gratia of ₹2 lakh from Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF).

The deceased students have been identified as Avishkar, son of MLA Vijay Rahangdale of Tirora Constituency in Gondia district, Neeraj Chauhan (First Year MBBS), Nitesh Singh (2015 Intern MBBS), Vivek Nandan (2018, MBBS Final), Pratyush Singh (2017 MBBS), Shubham Jaiswal (2017 MBBS), and Pawan Shakti (2020 MBBS).

"Pained by the loss of lives due to an accident near Selsura in Maharashtra. In this hour of sadness, my thoughts are with those who have lost their loved ones. I pray that those injured are able to recover soon," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said on Twitter, quoting PM Modi.

"PM @narendramodi announced that Rs. 2 lakh each from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of those who have lost their lives in the accident near Selsura. Those who are injured would be given Rs. 50,000," the PMO said in a subsequent tweet.