Picnic turns tragic for IIT student

Pune: An IIT-Kanpur third -year student, who was on a pleasure trip to Lonavla was killed and one of his friend was injured, when the two wheeler they were travelling hit a the road divider near Waksai in front of hotel Maval Darbar on old Mumbai -Pune Highway around 8.55am on Saturday.According to the highway police, the deceased identified as Anil Malpani (22), a resident of Shivaji Housing Society on Senapati Bapat Road and originally belonged to Jaipur was on a two wheeler bearing number (MH 12 HY 6151 ) when the vehicle dashed against a divider. Malpani was thrown over the divider and landed onto the opposite side of the highway and was immediately run over by an unidentified speeding truck.

Fortunately, his friend Arun Mor (21) survived, has sustained minor injuries and is currently recuperating at the YCM Hospital. Lonavla (Rural) police station incharge, Pradeep Kale said that Malpani was on his way to Lonavla along with some of his seniors for a pleasure trip. "The seniors were in the final year at IIT, Kanpur and had come to Pune for their educational project. They came in the May and were working at a private firm by the name Mphasis on SB road.The friends along with their colleagues from the company decided to go to Lonavla for a break and took four, two wheelers for their trip. Malpani was riding full speed, lost control over the vehicle and dashed against the divider and was killed," he said. Meanwhile, the police have lodged a case related to an accidental death in connection with the incident.

Kale said that the police had called his distant relatives in Mumbai who would be reaching Pune late evening. The relatives informed us that Malpani was a jovial and a friendly person. "Malpani and Mor were room-mates and had come to Pune for completing their project. The relatives could not believe that Malpani was no more," he said.