BAGALKOT: Four onion merchants were killed on the spot after they were allegedly knocked down by an unidentified vehicle on National Highway-218 near Badagandi village near Bilagi on Thursday midnight. The deceased are identified as Mahadeva Kurigar and Razzak Sabh Jambagi both from Govinadani village and Malappa Malali and Naseer Ahmed Mulla of Bilagi town. They were aged between 38 and 40 years and are survived by their wives and children.
The tragedy struck when the victims, were fixing the flat tyre of an onion laden lorry, as one of the tyres got punctured enroute Maharashtra. The impact of the accident was such that all the four succumbed to their injuries on the spot.
According to the police, “These deceased were heading to Maharashtra. When one of the tyres got punctured in the outskirts of Badagandi village on NH-218 (Hubballi-Solapur) they were fixing it on the highway itself, when an unknown vehicle hit them.”
“The vehicle has been seized. The bodies have been handed over to the family after autopsy,” stated police. According to sources, “Among the total deceased, three were the sole bread winners for respective families.” Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries Murugesh Nirani who represents Bilagi Assembly segment, expressed his condolences. He also assured of working on providing compensation to the next of kin of the deceased from the government. A case has been registered at Bilagi Police Station.