Amravati Express train hits truck in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district; no injuries
Mumbai, Mar 14 (PTI): A speeding truck crashed into a level-crossing gate, got stuck on the railway tracks and was hit by an express train in Maharashtra’s Jalgaon district on Friday morning, an official said.
No one was injured in the accident near Bodwad station around 4.30 am, which disrupted rail services on the route for about 6 hours, the official said.
He said the 12111 Amravati Express from Mumbai to Amravati was about to pass through the area when the truck driver lost control over the wheel and rammed the vehicle into a level-crossing gate.
The truck broke the barrier at the rail-road intersection and got stuck on the tracks. The driver alighted and was seeking help when the train hit the vehicle, the official said.
He said the alert loco pilot had spotted the truck on the tracks and slowed down, averting a much bigger accident.
The Central Railway's chief public relations officer Swapnil Nila said the truck had unauthorisedly crossed the track near Bodwad railway station in the Bhusawal division.
He said there were no injuries to the truck driver, cleaner, the railway staff and passengers.
The official said the accident disrupted the traffic, but the movement of trains has now been restored.
Officials from the railways, local police, Government Railway Police and Railway Protection Force rushed to the spot and launched an operation to clear the track.
According to officials, the truck got stuck to the train engine, which blocked rail traffic on the stretch for a few hours, and a gas cutter and earthmover were engaged to remove the truck from the tracks.
The track was cleared around 10.20 am, and the train left for the next station. A case is being registered, and a probe is underway, they said.
12111 Mumbai CSMT-Amravati SF Express reportedly hit a truck near Bodwad after Bhusawal at 4:30 AM today, stranding passengers for hours! #IndianRailways pic.twitter.com/uOJs3Axa3P
— Trains of India (@trainwalebhaiya) March 14, 2025
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Karnataka MLA Vinay Kulkarni disqualified after conviction in Goudar murder case
Bengaluru (PTI): The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Saturday issued an official notification regarding the disqualification of Congress MLA Vinay Kulkarni following his conviction in the murder case of BJP leader Yogeshgouda Goudar.
The former minister is currently in prison, serving life imprisonment in the case.
“Consequent upon the conviction of Vinay Kulkarni, Member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly representing the Dharwad constituency, by the LXXXI Additional City Civil & Sessions Judge, Bengaluru City (CCH-82), in Spl CC No. 565/2021, he stands disqualified from the membership of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from the date of conviction, i.e, April 15, 2026,” the notification read.
“He stands disqualified in terms of the provisions of Article 191(1)(e) of the Constitution of India, read with Section 8 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and such disqualification shall continue for a further period of six years after his release, unless the conviction is stayed by a competent court,” it added.
Hence, one seat in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly has fallen vacant, the notification said.
Bypolls were held on April 9 to fill two other seats in the 224-member Assembly that fell vacant due to the death of sitting MLAs. The results will be declared on May 4.
On April 15, Judge Santhosh Gajanan Bhat convicted Kulkarni and others under various IPC sections, including criminal conspiracy and murder. Subsequently, on April 17, the court sentenced Kulkarni and 15 others convicted in the case to life imprisonment.
The case pertains to the killing of Goudar, a BJP Zilla Panchayat member, in Dharwad on June 15, 2016. Kulkarni was a minister at that time. Hired assailants attacked and hacked Goudar to death in his gym at Saptapur in Dharwad.
Following demands from Goudar’s family and others, the then-BJP government transferred the case to the CBI in 2019.
The CBI filed a supplementary chargesheet in 2020, naming Vinay Kulkarni as the “main conspirator.” It alleged that he perceived Yogeshgouda Goudar as a growing political rival in Dharwad and hired contract killers to eliminate him.
Kulkarni was arrested by the CBI in 2020. He was granted bail by the Supreme Court in August 2021 under certain conditions, including a ban on entering Dharwad district. However, in June 2025, the apex court cancelled his bail following allegations of witness tampering and attempts to influence prosecution witnesses.
Kulkarni again sought bail in January 2026, but the High Court rejected it, citing judicial propriety.
However, the Supreme Court granted him bail on February 27 after noting that all witnesses had been examined.
