Kutch: Three young men lost their lives on the spot after a container overturned from a speeding trailer and fell directly on their Activa scooter near Khedoi village on the Mundra-Anjar highway on Thursday afternoon.

Eyewitnesses described the accident as “nothing short of a nightmare,” with body parts scattered on the blood-stained road and the Activa reduced to mangled debris.

Container Overturns on Activa, Youths Crushed

According to police officials, the tragedy occurred when the driver of a container-loaded trailer lost control of the vehicle while navigating the busy highway. The massive container slipped and toppled, landing with full force on an Activa that was passing by.

“The impact was so severe that one youth’s body was cut into two pieces, while the Activa’s wheels were completely smashed,” said an eyewitness who rushed to the spot.

The victims, identified as Naikti and Abhishek, along with a third yet-to-be-identified youth, were close friends traveling together for work when the fatal accident occurred.

Rescue Operation with Crane

Local residents immediately informed the police and tried to help the victims. The Anjar police reached the scene within minutes and began rescue efforts. A crane had to be called in to lift the container and retrieve the bodies.

“The container weighed several tonnes, and the operation took hours. Sadly, all three victims had already died by the time they were pulled out,” said a police officer from Anjar station.

The bodies were later shifted to the government hospital in Anjar for postmortem.

Shock and Mourning in the Region

The horrific accident has cast a shadow of grief across Anjar and surrounding villages. Families of the deceased youths were inconsolable as news of the tragedy reached their homes.

“This is a huge loss for us. They were all young, hardworking boys with their entire lives ahead of them. Reckless driving has destroyed our families,” said a relative of one of the victims, breaking down in tears.

Residents of Khedoi expressed anger over frequent accidents on the highway, demanding stricter checks on heavy vehicles. “These trailers drive at uncontrollable speeds. Unless the authorities act, such tragedies will continue,” said a local shopkeeper.

Police Action Against Driver

Anjar police have registered a case of reckless and negligent driving against the trailer driver. Investigations are underway to determine whether the vehicle was overloaded or if there were mechanical failures.

“We have booked the driver under relevant sections of the IPC and Motor Vehicles Act. Road safety enforcement will be stepped up on this stretch,” assured an Anjar police spokesperson.

New Delhi, Aug 28: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday hailed the socio-economic gains from the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for conceiving the world’s largest banking initiative in history.

“Exactly 11 years ago today, for the financial inclusion of the poor, women, farmers, and deprived sections, Modi ji launched the world’s largest banking initiative in history, the ‘Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana’,” said HM Shah on the anniversary of the scheme.

He said, in a post on X, “Through #11YearsOfJanDhan, a historic effort was made to connect a large section of the country to banking facilities, which had been deprived of it for decades.”

HM Shah highlighted that today, more than 56 crore Jan Dhan beneficiaries, including nearly 56 per cent women, are directly benefiting from various government schemes such as banking, insurance, and pension, and are engaged in achieving the goal of a developed and self-reliant India.

Earlier, PM Modi said that the scheme has enhanced dignity and empowered people to script their own destiny.

He took to his social media platform, X and said, “When the last mile is financially connected, the entire nation moves forward together. That is exactly what the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana achieved. It enhanced dignity and gave people the power to script their own destiny. 11YearsOfJanDhan.”

According to a government factsheet, over 67 per cent of the PMJDY accounts are located in rural or semi-urban areas, while 56 per cent of the accounts were opened by women.

“The PMJDY has been one of the major channels for delivering benefits under various schemes using Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), providing credit facilities, social security, and enhancing savings and investments,” Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

The scheme has also issued 38 crore RuPay cards, playing a major role in increasing digital transactions to 22,198 crore in 2024-25.

The number of RuPay card transactions at PoS and e-commerce has increased from 67 crore in FY 2017-18 to 93.85 crore in FY 2024-25, the government said in a release.

In line with PM Modi’s vision of every household having a bank account and every adult having insurance and pension coverage, saturation drives are being conducted nationwide, said Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary.

The campaigns will run till September 30 to expand the reach of PMJDY.

“At least one camp will be held in each of the 2.7 lakh gram panchayats in the country where eligible persons can open PMJDY accounts, enrol under Jansuraksha schemes, and also do their re-KYC and update nominations in their bank accounts,” the minister said.

“We have achieved near saturation in bank accounts, and there has been a continuous increase in insurance and pension coverage across the country,” he added.

Notably, the total deposit balances under PMJDY accounts have reached Rs 2,67,756 crore, while the number of accounts has increased three-fold, and the total deposits have grown by approximately 12 times.

Thane: A man from Navi Mumbai allegedly burnt his 32-year-old wife to death over suspicion of having an extra-marital affair and tried to pass it off as a suicide, police said on Thursday.

Daughter Exposes Father’s Crime

However, his lies were nailed as the couple’s seven-year-old daughter, who apparently witnessed the incident, told the police that her father had set her mother on fire, they said.

The incident took place in the early hours of August 25 at Pagotegaon in Uran area and the accused, aged 35, was arrested the next day, they said.

The accused, Rajkumar Ramshiromani Sahu, suspected his wife Jagrani Rajkumar Sahu of having an extra-marital affair, Uran police station’s senior inspector Hanif Mulani told PTI.

He allegedly tied the victim’s hands and legs, poured kerosene on her, and set her ablaze with a lighter at their home in Uran, he said.

The woman was later rushed to a hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrival, the official said.

Man Fakes Wife’s Suicide

The accused had claimed his wife locked herself inside a room in the house and committed suicide, following which a case of accidental death was registered initially, he said.

“But our investigation found discrepancies in his story,” Mulani said.

Further investigation, including the autopsy report and a crucial statement from the couple’s seven-year-old daughter, revealed a very different picture, he said.

“The accused had claimed that his wife locked herself inside the room and committed suicide. But the child’s statement contradicted the husband’s version,” the official said.

Police also examined CCTV footage of the locality and it clearly showed the accused leaving the house in the early hours after the incident, he said.

“This was a vital evidence, contradicting the man’s claim that he was not present at home at the time of the incident,” the official said.

Husband Arrested for Murder

Based on the medical and forensic evidence and version of the eyewitness, the Uran police registered a case against the accused under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 103(1) (murder) on August 26 and arrested him, he said.

“It a clear-cut case of murder. We have no doubt that this was a brutal act of domestic violence,” the official said.

Further probe was on into the case.