Mumbai: Pothole not the reason behind woman biker's death, says Maharashtra minister

New Delhi: Maharashtra Public Works Minister Chandrakant Patil on Tuesday claimed that the 36-year-old woman biker, who was crushed to death by a truck on Jawhar-Dahanu road in the Palghar district near Mumbai was not killed due to potholes. 

Talking to reporters in the legislative complex, Patil said that Bandra-resident Jagruti Hogale, was riding on the waterlogged slippery road, following which her bike slide and she fell down. "Unfortunately, the truck which was coming from behind hit Jagruti Hogale, killing her on the spot. Potholes were not the reason of her death,'' the minister confirmed. 

Earlier on Sunday, Jagruti Hogale, a member of the all-women 'Bikerni' motorcycle club, was on a trip with two other bikers to Jawhar in Palghar district when the incident occurred, a police official said. It was reported that the advertising professional, Hogale tried to overtake a truck on the Jawhar-Dahanu road around 9 AM but her bike landed in a pothole, throwing her off. She was then crushed under the wheels of the truck. She was rushed to a hospital where she was declared dead before admission. 

 The biker had earlier driven up to Khardung La in Ladakh, one of the highest motorable roads in the world, a police officer had said.

An accidental death report has been registered and the truck driver has been arrested. He has been booked under the IPC sections 304-A (causing death by negligence), which carries a punishment of up to two years in jail, and 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), which provides for up to 6 months in prison, Guthe said.

Earlier, a 21-year-old man was killed when his two-wheeler landed in a pothole near the state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai in September last year. Popular radio jockey Malishka Mendonsa recently incurred the wrath of the Shiv Sena which controls Mumbai's civic body for a satirical song on pothole ridden-Mumbai roads during the monsoon.