Rampaging bus crushes their hopes and dreams

Ankush Tikone, a 46-year-old resident of Akluj, was the sole bread winner of his family and three children, one of them mentally challenged.

Ankush was the first one to be mowed down by the killer bus. A courier service agent, Tikone used to travel to Phaltan, Baramati and Pune to pick up parcels daily between midnight and 6 am.

Tikone’s friend Santosh Dharulkar says, “Ankush was working with Tej Courier Services for the last 16 years. He had come to Pune as per his routine. After keeping the courier parcels in a bus, he got down and came under the killer bus. Later, MSRTC officials informed us about the incident. Ankush lives with his family in Akluj and used to come to Pune daily. He is survived by wife and three children. His eldest daughter, who is 13-year-old, is studying in Pune and his youngest son is mentally challenged.

Labourer’s dream comes to end
Ramlalit Shukla (23), a construction labourer, hailing from Bhadoli in Uttar Pradesh, wanted to get good treatment for his ailing mother before his marriage. However, death came calling on him in the form of the killer bus. Though he had done BA, Shukla worked at construction sites fixing sliding windows to earn a living.

His relative Ashok Shukla told DNA, “Ramlalit was a lively youth. He sang pretty well. He was working since last six years in Pune. He had not spent his three months’ salary so that the money can be used to treat his ailing mother. He wanted to marry only after his mother’s treatment. Recently, he had sent some money to his parents through a friend. Today, he and his three friends had gone to see off a friend returning to UP, at the Pune railway station. They were riding motorbikes near Pulgate when the bus dashed a motorbike killing Ramlalit.’’

Double tragedy
It was a double tragedy for the family of Pinkesh Khandelwal (35), a resident of Mukundnagar in Maharshinagar who owns a mobile shoppe in Camp.

Khandelwal’s business partner Yogesh Mehta told DNA, “Pinkesh was going to drop his 10-year-old son Rishi to school. The bus hit his motorbike from the rear side and both fell down. While Pinkesh died, his son suffered head injuries and  was operated on at Sassoon General Hospital and is in ICU. We rushed to the spot on hearing the news on television. His wife is a housewife and his younger son is just five-year-old," he added.

Tragic end 
Akshay Pise (20), a student staying on Law College Road, aspired to get admission in IIT.

His relative Umesh Masawade told DNA, “Akshay was a talented boy. He was doing telecom engineering course with Pune Vidyarthi Griha and last year, he secured 82%. He had appeared for IIT entrance examination. His father owns Mysore Tailors shop in Somwar Peth while his younger brother Ankit is a std IX student of Kalmadi Shamarao High School.’’

Medical career cut short
Pooja Bhaurao Patil (19), a second year dentistry student of Bharati Vidyapeeth Medical College, was escorted to the bus stand daily by her father. The father-daughter duo was on the way to the bus stop when the bus ran over them, killing Pooja and injuring her father.

Pooja’s cousin Swati Janapurkar said, “As Pooja was about to leave for her college, her friend came to meet her. Pooja, her father and her friend left home together. While Pooja and her friend rode the friend’s Scooty, Pooja’s father followed them on his motorbike. As they reached Pulgate, the bus hit the bike of Pooja’s father. Pooja and her friend stopped to help him but the bus mowed down them too. Pooja was the youngest child."