Pune: Three Of Family, Including Two Children, Killed In Hit-and-Run In Shirur
Pune, 31st October 2026: A 61-year-old woman and two children aged 11 and 13 from the same family were killed after an unidentified speeding vehicle rammed into four pedestrians from behind on the Nhavare-Shirur road in Amble village late on Thursday night. A 42-year-old woman was critically injured in the accident.
The accident occurred around 11pm in front of Kesari Hotel, when the four were returning home on foot after attending a kirtan programme organised as part of a week-long religious event in the village. The driver fled with the vehicle without stopping to help the victims.
The deceased were identified as Kaushalya Vasant Zende (61), her grandson Soham Rajiv Zende (13) and Aarushi Dattatray Zende (11), all residents of Amble. Jyoti Rajiv Zende (42) sustained serious injuries and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Shirur.
According to the police, Jyoti, her mother-in-law Kaushalya, son Soham and Aarushi, the daughter of a relative living in the neighbourhood, were walking along the road after the programme when a speeding vehicle travelling from Nhavare towards Shirur hit them from behind. The impact threw all four onto the road. Soham and Aarushi died on the spot, while Kaushalya succumbed to her injuries during treatment.
Based on a complaint lodged by Santosh Anil Zende (36), a resident of Amble, the Shirur police registered a case against the unidentified driver.
Three police teams have been formed to trace the vehicle and its driver. Investigators are examining CCTV footage from the accident spot and along the Nhavare-Shirur road, besides collecting details of vehicles that passed through the stretch around the time of the accident.
