Overview
- The crash, which occurred Friday near Dhotre in Ahilyanagar, killed Jitendra Shelke and his wife and left their teenage son seriously injured after their car struck a container truck.
- Police have registered an Accidental Death Report at Kopargaon and begun a technical reconstruction with transport and forensic experts to pin down the sequence of events.
- Investigators questioned the truck driver Saturday, who said a radiator leak forced him to slow and pull toward the shoulder, a claim police are now testing against earlier accounts that the vehicle was parked.
- Shelke, a vice-president of the Shivnika Trust linked to jailed self-styled godman Ashok Kharat, had recently given a statement to the Enforcement Directorate during fresh money‑laundering searches in Nashik.
- Opposition leaders and activists say the timing raises suspicion and want a neutral probe, while authorities continue ED asset actions tied to Kharat and report no evidence so far of foul play.