Pune: The Loni Kalbhor police have registered a case against a civic road contractor on the charge of endangering human life or personal safety of others after a 26-year-old fractured his chin in a fall near Kawadipet toll plaza on Pune-Solapur highway around midnight of Aug 15.The scooterist was injured after his vehicle hit an unprotected pothole leading to the fracture.Police identified the victim as Aditya Atole, a casual worker, who, along with his friend, Vedant Sawant (17), was returning home in Phursungi. Sawant, who was riding pillion, escaped unhurt in the accident. Sawant works at a paan kiosk.According to police, the contractor did not put up any security notice board, neglected proper illumination and diversion boards at the spot and neglected the safety of the road users, thus causing the accident.Sub-inspector Sarjerao Bobade of Loni Kalbhor police told TOI, “Atole was admitted to a private hospital. The doctors performed an operation to fix his chin. His cheeks were swollen.”Bobade said, “The road contractor and his workers had dug up a part of the highway, and there was a big pothole at the site. Atole and Sawant were heading home to Phursungi after completing their work at their respective workplaces in Loni. The pothole, which resulted from the digging work, was not visible. The scooter went into the pothole, and Atole was thrown into the air. He landed straight on his chin.”The officer said the contractor has been identified, and the police have directed him to visit the police station within the next two days to record his statement.Many cases of accidents because of potholes have been reported over the years. In Aug 2021, a 52-year-old woman died of a serious head injury after falling off her two-wheeler which had run into a pothole at Mithanagar in Kondhwa.
