A 67-year-old religious leader of Shura Tablighi Jamat, who along with seven others was travelling to Ahmedabad from Karnataka in a tempo traveller, died in an accident at Kamothe on Sunday afternoon.
Kamrul Mumtazali Islam and his six associates had gone to Karnataka for a religious meet before the lockdown and had been stuck in the State. “After the Karnataka government lifted travel restrictions, Islam, the group leader, and the other six underwent COVID-19 test. After their results came negative, they applied for the permission to travel,” senior police inspector Babasaheb Tupe from Kamothe police station said.
After driving down the Mumbai-Pune expressway, their vehicle rammed into a stationary bus on the Mumbai-Sion Highway. “The tempo driver dozed off and lost control of the vehicle. Islam, who was seated next to the driver, sustained injuries,” Mr. Tupe said.
He was rushed to MGM Hospital in Kamothe where he was declared dead on arrival, Mr. Tupe said. The tempo driver, Waghesha Ram Chandrappa (28) from Karnataka, was booked and arrested for rash driving and negligent act.