Pune: A luxury Mercedes car was involved in a road accident on Friday evening on the Katraj–Dehu Road Bypass section of the Mumbai–Pune Highway in Kiwale, under the jurisdiction of the Dehu Road Police
Station. Four occupants of the car sustained injuries but are reported to be stable. The Mercedes vehicle was seriously damaged in the collision.
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Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Senior Police Inspector Vikram Bansode, in charge of Dehu Road Police Station, said the Mercedes rear-ended a truck at around 4 pm. He added that the truck was parked on the roadside at the time of the accident. “Four people were seated in the Mercedes. All of them suffered injuries, but their condition is stable. The Mercedes driver has accepted that the accident occurred due to his mistake. No complaint has been filed so far,” he said.
Inspector Bansode further stated that the truck driver reported no major damage to his vehicle and therefore did not lodge any complaint from his side.
A video of the incident has gone viral on social media. The footage shows the truck bearing a banner marked ‘election material – urgent’, leading to speculation online that it may have been carrying materials related to the upcoming Zilla Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections across Maharashtra. However, police have not confirmed the nature of the materials being transported.
Dehu Road police clarified that although a road accident did take place, there were no serious injuries, and no legal complaint has been registered so far, contrary to claims circulating on social media.
The accident occurred on a day when traffic movement across Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad was affected due to road closures and diversions imposed for the Pune Grand Tour 2026 cycling event. With Monday (January 26) being a public holiday for Republic Day, several schools, colleges, and offices had also declared holidays on Friday, effectively kicking off a four-day-long weekend.
As the cycling event concluded at multiple locations by around 4 pm on Friday, vehicular traffic on the Mumbai–Pune Highway began building up by evening as many commuters headed towards Mumbai for the long weekend. Police reported congestion along several stretches of the highway following the accident.
