Pune: The driver of the tanker has been arrested by Lonikand police station, in connection with the accident on Sunday in Wagholi wherein seven persons were killed. The arrested accused has been identified as Krishna Kitarwad (22). He was arrested in the wee hours of Monday.

According to Pune rural police, all the deceased, including two women, were software professionals working with different IT firms in the city. Six persons had died on the spot while another one succumbed to injuries later on. Six other persons were injured when the private mini-bus in which they were traveling collided with the water tanker near Lonikand village. The victims were returning from a friend’s wedding in Ahmednagar district.

Police said that when the mini-bus reached near Lonikand, the water tanker coming from the opposite direction veered off the road. It then rammed into the road divider, jumped on the other side of the road and collided with the minibus.

“It seems that the water tanker was being driven in a rash and negligent manner. The tanker driver apparently lost control over the wheels following which the vehicle collided with the bus,” a police officer said.

The tanker also hit a car which was behind the bus. A couple was traveling in the car and the man was injured in the incident.Police have charged the driver Kitarwad for offenses under IPC sections pertaining to rash and negligent driving and also under section 304 part II, for the offense of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, under which the imprisonment may extend up to 10 years.

He has also been booked under relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act, the police officer said.