The tractor reversed and ploughed into the crowd behind, police said (Representational)
Three children died and six persons were injured after being run over by a tractor trolly carrying a Ganesh idol in Maharashtra's Dhule district on Tuesday, police said.
The incident took place around 12.30 pm at Chitod village in Dhule tehsil.
As the Ganesh immersion procession was about to start, the driver of the tractor got down for some reason, said a police official.
Another man, a member of the Ganesh mandal which had organised the procession, climbed into the driver's seat and started the vehicle but lost control of the wheels, he said.
The tractor reversed and ploughed into the crowd behind, the official said.
Pari Shantaram Bagul (13 years), Shera Bapu Sonawane (6 years) and Lahu Pawra (3 years) were crushed to death. One of the deceased was the niece of the person who started the vehicle, the official said.
Gayatri Pawar (25), Vidya Jadhav (27), Ajay Somvanshi (23), Ujjwala Malche (23), Lalita More (16) and Vidya Sonawane (17) were seriously injured. They were rushed to the Hire Medical College.
The man in the driver's seat fled from the spot but he, along with the actual driver, was soon detained by the police. A case was being registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, said the police official.
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